The overnight starter gives this pizza great flavor and an unbeatable chewy/crispy crust, akin to what you'd get from pizza baked in a wood-fired brick oven.
To make the starter: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a mixing bowl or the pan of your bread machine, stir together the flour, water and yeast. Set aside, covered, to rest overnight or all day.
To make the dough: Add the flour and water to the starter, mix well, and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Add the remaining dough ingredients, mixing and kneading to form a smooth dough.
Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes; gently fold the edges to the middle, turn it over, and let it rise an additional 45 minutes.
Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 9" round, place on a piece of parchment cut to fit, cover, and let rest while you heat your oven to 500°F.
After about 30 minutes, use a giant spatula or pizza peel to transfer the pizza to your hot oven stone; or place it on a pan on the lowest rack of your oven.
Bake for 4 minutes, then remove from the oven, and top with your favorite toppings. Return the pizzas to the lowest rack of the oven (not to the stone), and bake for an additional 8 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling bubbly.
Store any leftover pizza, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for several days; freeze for longer storage.
The maximum temperature rating for most parchment paper is below 500°F, and at temperatures between 450°F and 500°F parchment’s exposed edges begin to char. To be safe, keep a close eye on anything being cooked at temperatures above 450°F (especially anything on an upper rack). Burned edges can also be minimized by trimming away excess parchment before baking.
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