Published March 1, 2004.
For our pissaladiere recipe, we wanted a dough with a crackerlike exterior, a chewy crumb, and the structure to stand up to heavy toppings. Kneading the dough in the food processor gave it these characteristics. To prevent the caramelized onions from clumping, we added a bit of water to them before spreading them over the dough. And we found that blanketing them over the chopped olives, anchovies, and thyme leaves protected these ingredients from overcooking.
Instant yeast is almost always sold under a marketing name; look for “rapid rise,” “perfect rise,” or “quick rise.” If your food processor includes a plastic dough blade attachment, use it; its short blades and dull edges make kneading easier on the motor. If not, the regular metal blade works almost as well. For best flavor, use high-quality oil-packed anchovies; in a recent tasting, Ortiz were our favorite. The dough in this recipe rises for 1 to 1 ½ hours. If a longer or overnight rise is more convenient, make the dough with ½ teaspoon of instant yeast and let it rise in the refrigerator for 16 to 24 hours. The caramelized onions can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
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