Pizza a la Spago

Pizza a la Spago is the pizza dough recipe that put Wolfgang Puck’s Los Angeles restaurant on the map back in the 1980s, when nobody outside Italy had heard of personal pizzas with goat cheese on top. The formula is deceptively simple, just yeast, water, honey, flour, salt, and a generous five tablespoons of olive oil that makes the crust pliable and golden when baked hot. Honey instead of sugar feeds the yeast a little more gently and adds a faint sweetness that balances the salt. A short 30-to-45-minute rise keeps the dough soft rather than developing the chew of a longer-fermented Neapolitan, perfect for the thin, crisp Spago-style crust. The 15-minute fridge rest after dividing is a smart touch, it relaxes the gluten so the balls stretch instead of snapping back when you shape them. Top with whatever’s in season, this dough plays well with everything from simple margherita to wilder toppings.

Pro Tips

• Use warm water around 105°F to 110°F (40°C to 43°C) to wake the yeast, anything hotter kills it and anything cooler slows it down.
• Add the third cup of flour gradually as you knead, dough hydration varies day to day depending on humidity.
• Don’t skip the fridge rest, warm dough fights you and tears when you try to stretch it thin.
• Stretch by hand on a floured surface, a rolling pin presses out all the air pockets that make pizza crust crisp.

Variations

• Sub 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with semolina or 00 flour for a sturdier, crispier crust.
• Stir a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme into the dough for an herbed base.
• Let the dough cold-ferment in the fridge overnight after the first rise for a deeper, more complex flavor.