Vace’s pizza is great by the slice, but the whole pies don’t hold up so well in a steamy takeout box. By the time you get home, you’ll likely open the lid to a soggy mess.
So we’ve been experimenting with Vace’s pizza dough, sold by the bag at both the DC and Bethesda locations. All you need is a pizza stone heated in a 450-degree oven and a wooden paddle to slide the pizza on and off it. If you keep the pies small, metal spatulas work, too.
Vace also supplies the rest of the fixings: a pint of Vace’s pizza sauce (kept behind the counter), a block of Polly-O mozzarella (it may be foodie heresy, but it melts into the dough better than the fresh stuff), and a stick of hot soppresatta.
Slice the cheese thin and soften it in olive oil for about an hour (an old Marcella Hazan trick). Use a rolling pin to flatten about a quarter of the cold dough into a thin circle, press the cheese into it, and spoon the sauce—plus a dusting of Parmesan and a few rounds of soppresatta—on top.
You can dress the pies up with anything—torn basil, fried eggs, briny anchovies. Tomato-free combinations like mascarpone cheese, a quick sauté of diced pancetta, and very thinly sliced onions, or Vace’s basil pesto and fresh mozzarella work beautifully. Each pizza takes about 12 minutes to bake.
It’s not as simple as picking up the phone and ordering delivery, but it’s quick and easy and memorable—a pizza you’ll go for again and again.
Vace pizza dough, $2.25 per bag. 3315 Connecticut Ave., NW, 202-363-1999; 4705 Miller Ave., Bethesda, 301-654-6367.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
