For many years, yeasted breads have been my white whale. I’ve turned out cakes and cookies, pancakes and scones. But the moment yeast appears in a recipe, I get nervous.

Part of this is due to my repeated, disastrous failures at the famous no-knead bread. This is a recipe with 4,715 5-star ratings, yet every single time I’ve made it, I’ve ended up with a flat, unleavened brick. It’s demoralizing.

I also get stressed out by proofing yeast. Is the room too warm? Too cold? What about the draft from the window–should I put the bowl in the oven to prevent it from wafting over the yeast? And the foam: is that a normal amount, or should I start over because it’s not enough?

But the other day I desperately wanted pizza. Too busy to trek to Trader Joe’s for dough, I bit the bullet and gave this recipe a go. The recipe called for no proofing of the yeast, no coming back every hour or two to rise, punch, knead, or shape– just stir the ingredients, walk away, and come back some hours later to pizza dough. If I was going to get any recipe to work, this would be it.

And lo, work it did. The recipe was just as easy as it seemed: a true dump-and-stir situation, with multiple options on rising time to make the pizza fit to my schedule, rather than the other way around. But more than that, it created the perfect dough: cracker-crisp on the outside, stretchy and chewy on the inside, with a great bready flavor. Yes, yes, yes.

A whole heap of raw asparagus–fresh, abundant, and cheap at this time of year–made a natural choice for a quick topping. And if you’re thinking that this sounds like something that should washed down with a bone-dry rose or an aperol spritz, I can confirm that you are absolutely right. (Extra points if consumed outdoors on your porch, patio, rooftop, or fire escape.)

So I promise: if I can do this, you can do this!  A homemade pizza bender awaits.

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Previously:
One year ago: Mexico City Food Guide
Two years ago: How to Reduce the Bite of Red Onions
Three years ago: Muesli with Nuts, Dried Fruit, and Coconut

And for my Australians:
Six months ago: The Fastest Way to Cut a Bell Pepper
One and a half years ago: Salade Lyonnaise + A Little Taste of Lyon
Two and a half years ago: Mom’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Asparagus Pizza + One-Step Pizza Dough

Pizza dough and asparagus topping both via Smitten Kitchen
Makes 2 very thin crust 10″x12″ (25x30cm) pizzas (enough to serve 3 people very generously or 4 with a side salad)

Choose one of the following three rise times, then add the corresponding amount of yeast indicated in the ingredients section:

1. Day-before dough (approx. 22-hours): begin your dough between 8 and 9pm the previous night for dinner between 6 and 8pm the next day.
2. All-day dough (approx. 12-hour rise): begin your dough between 6 and 8am for dinner between 6 and 8pm the same day.
3. Part-day dough (approx. 6-hour rise): begin your dough at noon for dinner between 6 and 8 pm the same day.

Ingredients

Dough
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
Slightly heaped 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (for Day-before, All-day, or Part-day dough respectively, above)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
1 1/4 cup water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed
Cornmeal, for sprinkling baking sheet

Topping
1 – 1 1/4 pounds (450-566g) asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Small pinch of red pepper flakes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup (80g) grated Parmesan
1 pound (450g) mozzarella, torn into bite-size-ish chunks (get the mozzarella that’s wrapped in plastic– the kind floating in water will make your pizza soggy)
1/2 lemon

Instructions

In a very large bowl, mix all ingredients with a spoon. The dough might be a bit rough–don’t worry about it. Cover with plastic and keep at room temperature for approximately 22 (for Day-before schedule), 12 (for All-day schedule) or 6 (for Part-day schedule) hours, or until the dough has more than doubled. This takes longer in a chilly room and less in a very warm one, but honestly don’t worry about this, either–this is a forgiving recipe.

About 30 minutes before the dough is ready, prep your asparagus topping. Lay a spear of asparagus down on a cutting board. Hold it by the tough end, and use a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons of asparagus. If you’re using relatively young, skinny asparagus, they will break after a few shaves. That’s fine! Just take what remains of the stalk, snap it into a few pieces, and throw the stalks + ribbons in a bowl. Discard the tough end, if there is one. Repeat with the rest of the asparagus. Then toss with olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and green onions.

Preheat oven to its highest temperature (usually around 500F/260C). If you have a pizza stone (I don’t), put it in the oven now. Very lightly oil two large, rimless baking sheets with olive oil. (Don’t have rimless? Just flip your rimmed sheet over and use the underside.) Sprinkle sheets with a bit of cornmeal.

Flour your counter well. Scrape the risen dough out of the bowl onto the floured counter. It will be very soft, sticky, and stretchy. Divide the dough in half. Form the two halves into rough balls. Place one of the balls in the middle of one of the baking sheets. Using very lightly oiled fingers, nudge the dough around until it forms your desired shape. (My pizzas always look like amoebas, but honestly, who cares?) The crust will be very thin, but as long as there are no holes, it doesn’t matter. Repeat with the other ball of dough on the second baking sheet.

Divide the parmesan evenly between the two pizzas, sprinkling over the top. Then do the same with the mozzarella, then the asparagus topping.

Place the pizzas in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the dough is golden-brown, the cheese is bubbling, and the asparagus is starting to char. Remove from oven, squeeze lemon juice over the top, cut, and serve.