Pizza Quattro Formaggi

How to make it

1. Crumble the fresh yeast into the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Stir until the liquid is slightly cloudy and completely free of lumps.
   Chef's tip Lukewarm means hand-warm, around 25-30°C. Above roughly 45°C the yeast starts to die, and with only 2 g of yeast for a full day's rise you have no reserve to fall back on.
2. Add the flour a little at a time while stirring with your hand. Sprinkle in the fine salt together with the last portion of flour, so the yeast has time to get going before the salt hits it. Keep stirring until the dough comes together into a rough mass with no dry flour left in the bottom of the bowl.
3. Knead the dough on the counter for 10 minutes without sprinkling on extra flour. It's ready when it's smooth and elastic and can be stretched thin between your fingers without tearing right away. ⏱ 10 min
4. Divide the dough into four equal balls of about 250 g each. Tighten each ball by pulling the surface down and under the base until it's smooth and taut with no creases. Place the balls with plenty of space between them in a covered tray and let them rise (see "Advance Prep").
   Chef's tip Sealing the ball with a smooth, taut skin gives the dough a surface tension it rises upward against; a creased, loose ball spreads flat over 24 hours and is harder to stretch evenly.
5. Place the baking steel or pizza stone on the second-highest rack and heat the oven to its highest temperature, at least 250°C, for 45 minutes. The steel needs to be heated all the way through, or the crust won't have time to color before the cheese runs. ⏱ 45 min · passive
   Chef's tip A steel feels hot on the surface long before its core is saturated — give it the full 45 minutes at max. Under-heated, the base pales and stays limp while the cheese above already blisters and separates.
6. Cut the mozzarella into strips about 1 cm wide and lay them on a paper towel so the whey drains off and doesn't make the crusts soggy. Cut the fontina into thin slices and break the gorgonzola into small clumps with your fingers. Grate the parmigiano finely. ⏱ 10 min
   Chef's tip Fresh mozzarella carries a lot of whey; strips left to drain 10-15 minutes on paper towel release far less water onto the crust. The surface should look matte, not glistening wet, before it goes on.
7. Sprinkle semolina flour on the counter and turn one of the risen dough balls in it. Press the dough out from the center toward the edge with your fingertips, pushing the air out to the rim. Finish stretching it over the backs of your hands into a crust about 30 cm across with a clearly thicker edge all the way around. ⏱ 20 min
   Chef's tip Press with fingertips only and never a rolling pin — pushing gas from the center out to the rim is what builds the puffed cornicione. Flattened edge gas means a flat, cracker-like border.
8. Spread a quarter of the fontina slices and mozzarella strips evenly over the crust, leaving the outer 2 cm bare. Tuck a quarter of the gorgonzola clumps in between and scatter a quarter of the grated parmigiano over the top. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cheese, and don't add any more salt — the four cheeses salt it plenty on their own. ⏱ 10 min
9. Slide the topped crust onto a pizza peel dusted with semolina flour and let it slide onto the thoroughly heated steel. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the edge has puffed up with dark spots and the cheese is bubbling glossy with golden edges. ⏱ 25 min–30 min · passive
   Chef's tip Give the peel a light shake before you send the crust in: if it doesn't slide freely, lift the edge and puff some semolina flour underneath. A crust that sticks folds in on itself on the steel.
10. Pull the pizza out onto a board and grind fresh black pepper over it. Serve it whole and piping hot, one pizza per person. Let each diner cut their own at the table so the cheese doesn't have time to set. Repeat with the three remaining dough balls, one pizza at a time, so they come straight from the oven to the table.