Instructions

1. Place 1 cup of the warm water in a small bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, and stir to combine. Let sit until the yeast is foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pour 1/4 cup of the extra-virgin olive oil onto a large rimmed baking sheet (13x18 inches). Place 2 1/2 cups bread flour, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the center.
2. Pour the yeast mixture into the well. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Stir with a stiff spatula until a shaggy dough comes together. It’s OK if there is a little dry flour in the bowl. Scrape the dough and any remaining flour onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough, adding a very light dusting of flour if needed, just until the dough feels smooth, soft, and a little tacky, but releases cleanly from your hands and the work surface, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet and turn to coat well in oil. Lightly cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough has more than doubled in size and fills between one-third and one-half of the baking sheet, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. After about 30 minutes, heat the oven and make the sauce. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven and place a pizza stone, baking steel, or upside-down baking sheet on the rack. Heat the oven to 500ºF (you want it hot and well-heated!).
5. Place 1 (about 15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water to the can and gently shake the can to rinse it out; pour into the saucepan. Add 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Finely grate 1 small garlic clove into the saucepan.
6. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened slightly and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, 5 to 15 minutes. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Remove from the heat and let cool.
7. Uncover the dough and gently stretch and press until it is an even, thin thickness and fills the baking sheet, making sure the dough stays oiled on both sides and the oil doesn’t just pool in the corners. It’s OK if it doesn’t fully reach the corners. If the dough doesn’t want to stretch, just give it a few minutes to relax and try again. Don’t just stretch from the middle of the dough or you will end up with a section of thick dough and a section so thin you can see through it.
8. Cover again and let rise in a warm place until slightly puffed, soft, and relaxed, 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, grate 12 ounces whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese on the large holes of a box grater (about 3 cups). Finely grate Parmesan cheese on the small holes of a box grater until you have 1/4 cup if needed.
9. If needed, gently stretch the dough to fully cover the baking sheet. Sprinkle all over with the Parmesan. Sprinkle with the mozzarella, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Drop small spoonfuls of sauce all over the cheese, but do not spread out (the sauce will not fully cover the pizza).
10. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it on the pizza stone, baking steel, or upside-down baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake until the crust is well-browned around the edges and the mozzarella has bubbled and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes more.
11. Let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the pizza with a spatula or thin knife, then cut into 12 large squares (or transfer to a large cutting board before cutting).