“This tastes like it came from a restaurant,” my partner said after taking several bites in rapid succession. “It’s really, really good.” To be honest, I was not expecting this level of enthusiasm from him. As a man from New Haven, he has a lot of opinions about pizza (and clams on pizza), and the conventional oven-baked, focaccia-like crust on our Slab Pizza with Sausage, Chard and Onions is just about as far from New Haven-style pizza as you can get.

But, like all the recipes in our newest cookbook, “Milk Street Bakes,” it’s just that good. Every component—from the crust and sauce to cheese and toppings—feels intentional and purposeful. The pat-in-pan crust is tender on the inside, with an almost fried crispiness on the outside. The combination of cheeses offers complex flavor and a satisfying stretchiness, while the savory onions and chard excel in their supporting roles, offering a touch of vegetal bitterness to balance the rich saltiness of the meat and cheese. It’s all baked in a normal, boring oven, no pizza stone required.

Pizza crust you can make on a whim—no stretching or tossing needed

One of the primary reasons I don’t make more pizza at home is the time investment required to make the dough. Depending on the style and fermentation time, pizza dough can take days to come together. But this focaccia-style crust is ready to bake in a little over 90 minutes. With a high hydration level of around 75%, it’s a little dryer than our Pour-in-the-Pan Pizza—which has a hydration level of 89%—but wetter than the 66 or 68% hydration found in a “regular” pizza dough.

A high level of hydration results in a dough that’s too wet to stretch or toss, but that’s a benefit. All you have to do is pour and push. Mix the dough, scrape it into the center of a sheet pan, oil it and cover it with plastic wrap, then let it rest for 30 minutes. Uncover, and using dampened fingertips, gently press the dough out from the center and towards the edges and corners of the pan. Cover and let rise and rest again. As we learned from Peter Reinhart, that resting is crucial. “After a while the best thing to do is to just let it rest,” he said. “Let the hydration take place. The flour will absorb the water and the gluten will begin to develop. The proteins gliadin and glutenin need to find each other and bond to create gluten. It doesn’t matter how fast you mix it, it still takes time for that to happen.”

After the second rest, and again using dampened fingertips, coax the dough into an even layer to the edges and into corners of the baking sheet. Re-cover and let rest until the dough is bubbly and has risen by about half, 20 to 25 minutes. The result is a sturdy yet tender crust that’s a bit less airy and slightly chewier than a traditional focaccia, without the waiting and manual manipulation required by traditional pizza dough.

An oil slick in the pan gives the crust its crunch

For maximum textural contrast, we brush the sheet pan with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil (nearly 1/4 cup), then scatter a couple of tablespoons of semolina flour on top. The dough essentially fries in the hot oil, while the semolina helps prevent sticking, giving it the classic crisp bottom you want in a pan-style pizza. (Peter Reinhart describes it as “like eating a really good piece of hot buttered toast.”)

With beautiful caramelized edges, it complements the tender interior and keeps things sturdy, so you can sauce it up and pile on the toppings.

Keep the sauce simple

Our favorite pizza sauce has only five ingredients: a can of whole tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. It’s just complex enough, with a subtle heat that keeps things interesting but not distracting. We blend half of the tomatoes into a puree, then pulse the remainder until mostly smooth, with some small chunks. You can use a regular blender or immersion blender; I used the latter.

The garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper are sizzled in oil to temper the harsh bite of the garlic and bloom the flavor of the spices. The tomatoes are added to the aromatic fat, then simmered until a wooden spoon leaves a trail when drawn through the sauce, which ensures your pizza will be saucy, not soggy.

A blend of cheeses gives you the best texture and flavor

The cheese pull looms large when discussing pizza. A gooey stretchiness is seen as all-important, usually at the expense of flavor. The solution lies not in a single cheese, but a combination, with one melter and another crumblier, more flavorful variety. And you have options: In addition to smoked mozzarella, we recommend provolone and Asiago for their slightly funkier notes, but if you prefer to keep things mild, melty fontina and Parmesan are delicious.

Pre-cook your toppings, but not too much

Pre-cooking pizza toppings is what keeps your pie from devolving into a soggy, greasy mess. Sausage releases fat as it cooks, and vegetables give off water, so it’s best to get all of that driven off before the toppings meet the crust.

The chard is cooked in two stages. The stems are thinly sliced and sautéed with the sausage in olive oil, just until the sausage is no longer pink, then transferred to a plate. Don’t overcook the sausage on the stovetop. Cooking just until the meat is no longer pink gives it a head start so it can brown and crisp up in the oven.

The roughly-chopped leaves go into that same pan, along with a little water, where they are briefly cooked until wilted. They finish cooking in the oven, getting nice and crisp along with the pork. Thinly sliced red onions are the only topping that go onto the pie raw—when partially covered with the final layer of cheese, they transform into a mix of melty soft pieces and charred crisp bits.

Bake it all in a super-hot conventional oven until the pizza is golden brown and the edges are deeply caramelized. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the whole slab to a cutting board. Slice and serve.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.

And if you're looking for more Milk Street, check out our livestream cooking classes with our favorite chefs, home cooks and friends for global recipes, cooking methods and more.

Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.