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Remove and discard the bay leaf from the onions; stir in the thyme. Spread the onions evenly across the dough, then make a grid or diagonal pattern across them with the anchovy fillets, laying them tip to tail. Dot the olives in a decorative pattern across the dough, then sprinkle on some pepper.

Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Variations: Add ¼ teaspoon ground cloves to the onions with the thyme.

Dot 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed, over the onions with the olives.

Sprinkle the onions with 1 teaspoon coarse-grained salt before adding the anchovies.

Lightly paint the crust with Dijon mustard before spreading on the onions.

Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top the moment it comes out of the oven.

3. Pizza

2 cups Basic Pizza Sauce, jarred pizza sauce, Sun-Dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Pesto, or Sage Pesto

1 pound mozzarella, shredded

Punch the dough down and turn it over in the bowl, cover again loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm, draft-free place a second time until doubled in bulk, about 1 more hour.

As the dough finishes rising, position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a 17 × 11-inch lipped baking sheet.

Once the dough has risen a second time, punch it down and turn it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Press it evenly to the corners, stretching and pulling as necessary. Spread the pizza sauce or pesto across the dough, then sprinkle on the cheese.

Bake until golden and gooey, about 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Other Pizza Toppings: Before you add the cheese, you can also sprinkle any of these over the pizza:

8 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced

8 ounces Italian sausage meat, fried with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until browned, about 3 minutes

8 ounces sliced mushrooms, cooked with 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until they give off their liquid and it evaporates, about 5 minutes

8 canned artichoke hearts, drained and cut into quarters

2 red or green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced

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Pâtés

Although the name “pâté” may call up images of a fussy, ’50s appetizer, not all pâtés are created equal—or are equally hard to create. Here are five that run the gamut from a chunky French pâté to a creamy vegetarian chopped liver.

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Classic Country Pâté

This is a traditional pâté with an important change: to protect the mélange from the heat, we line the pan with pancetta, rather than caul fat or butter. Beef liver is too strong and will overpower the flavors, so search out calf’s liver or pork liver at meat counters. Serve with minced hard-cooked eggs, Dijon mustard, cornichons or other small pickles, drained capers or larger caper berries, as well as toasted baguette rounds, melba toast, or plain crackers. Makes about 20 servings

½ pound pancetta, sliced paper thin

¼ pound fatback or pork fat

1 pound ground pork

¾ pound ground veal (see Note)

½ pound calf’s or pork liver, finely

chopped

1 large shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup Cognac or brandy

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon stemmed thyme or ½ teaspoon

dried thyme

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

4 bay leaves

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the bottom and sides of a 6-cup pâté pan or a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan with the pancetta slices.

Grind the fatback or pork fat through a meat grinder, or puree it with 1 tablespoon water in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade until smooth, scraping down the sides of the canister as necessary.

Transfer the ground fatback or pork fat to a large bowl. Gently stir in the ground pork, ground veal, liver,