Margherita Pizza (before basil)
Homemade pizza sounds intimidating but is not a difficult dish to make. It’s a little time consuming because of the time needed to let the dough rise. A minimum of two hours is needed from start to finish. I make the sauce while the dough is rising. I am usually under a time crunch so I rarely have the time needed except on a day off. At the moment I’m enjoying some down time while on hiatus from work (i.e… lay-off). At least it gives me needed time to tackle some dishes I’ve been wanting to make… and save money at the same time!
There are many recipes requiring a higher gluten flour but you can get just as good results with all purpose. For you aficionados, go ahead and use a specialty flour or replace some of the A.P flour with semolina or durum flour but be aware you will need to add a little extra water as the higher protein flours are more absorbent.
pizza dough after rising and kneaded additional minute
BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
(makes two 16 inch pizza crusts)
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoons sugar
1 package of active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for the rising bowl
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Proof yeast – place yeast in warm water with sugar and gently stir. Leave for 10 minutes until it is frothy on top.
Mix dry ingredients in medium, size bowl. Add oil and yeast mixture and mix with hands. When dough forms a ball, remove to floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in a bowl large coated with olive oil making sure there is enough room for it to double in size. Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a warm place until it doubles in size (an hour or so). I placed mine in a cool oven so it took about and hour and 20 minutes to double.
Punch dough until it deflates then return to floured surface and knead about a minute.
Cut into desired portions and stretch and form the dough.
pizza dough divided
Place desired toppings of choice and bake in a pre-heated 500 degree oven. Check at 6 – 8 minutes. May take as long as 12 – 15 minutes.
PIZZA SAUCE
1 28oz can of plum tomatoes in juice
½ 6oz can of tomato paste
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
fresh ground pepper
½ – 1 teaspoon salt
extra virgin olive oil
Heat a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat, add a small amount of olive oil (approx 1 tablespoon, maybe a little less). Add garlic and sauté for a minute or so, being careful not to burn. Rub oregano and thyme between hands before adding to garlic and oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
To the pot, add tomato paste and stir (it will be gloppy). Add whole tomatoes and juice to the mixture, crushing tomatoes in hands. Stir until incorporated. When sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat and simmer 10 – 15 minutes.
Blend with stick blender if too chunky. Sauce is ready to use or store.
For the pizza pictured above, I had limited space and a small cutting board (11″ x 13″) so I divided the dough into 8 portions to make 6″ mini pizzas. On a floured surface, press each ball of dough with your hands into a flat circle, turning and flipping over… how thick or thin is up to you. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. I was going to complete my pizza making at a get together later so I pre-baked the dough for 5 minutes in a 500 degree oven. Remove from oven. Dough will puff up a little in oven – just prick it with a fork and gently flatten down. Set pizza shells aside while you make each pizza.
Pizza making time:
unbaked pizza pie shell
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
freshly grated parmesan cheese
pizza sauce (recipe above)
several cloves of garlic, minced (I like A LOT!)
extra virgin olive oil
Optional:
Basil leaves (can leave whole, tear them into small pieces or chiffonade)
Spoon 2 – 3 tablespoons sauce on each shell and spread it around with the back of the spoon.
Place mozzarella slices around pizza. Sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.
Place pizza on baking sheet in 500 degree oven and bake for 5 – 8 minutes for pre-baked shell or 12 – 15 minutes if not. When pizza is removed from oven, place basil on top and let it sit for a couple minutes. Slice and enjoy!
