Margherita Pizza With Kalamata Olive Tomato Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together. Place in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until yeast is foamy.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the dough comes together and becomes difficult to stir.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add small amounts of flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Transfer the dough to a large bowl coated with olive oil. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, remove the towel and punch the dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 6-8 pieces, and shape each into a small ball.
• Place the formed balls onto a baking sheet and rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
• To shape the individual pizzas, press out the dough balls onto a lightly floured surface. Create a slightly thicker rim around the outside of the dough and continue to stretch into a 9- to 10-inch (23-25 cm) round.
• Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium heat, until the pan just begins to smoke, about 5 minutes.
• Carefully transfer a stretched pizza round onto the hot pan. Leave to cook for 2-3 minutes (the dough should begin bubbling up) until lightly tanned with a few dark spots. Flip and continue to cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes longer, until the crust is completely dry.
• Remove the dough to rest on a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.
• To finish the pizzas, top each crust with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.
• Transfer to the oven and broil for 7 or 8 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the crust has developed a nice char in spots. Watch closely and move to a lower rack if necessary.
• Finish each pizza with fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put a jelly roll pan or a half sheet pan in the oven.
• Begin by making the tomato sauce. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the minced garlic, thyme and oregano. Cook until just fragrant then add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Lower the heat and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavor. Shut off the heat and set aside.
• Take the preheated jelly roll pan out of the oven and drizzle some olive oil over the entire surface. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and reserve 1 piece for another use. Stretch the pizza dough out so it is just bigger than the pan, then lay it inside the pan, so the dough comes up the sides to form a crust on the rim. Smear with tomato sauce then tear up the mozzarella and scatter it evenly over the top of the pie. Tear the basil leaves, spread them over the top and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Give it a final season with salt and pepper, to taste, then bake in the hot oven until golden and bubbly, about 15 to 18 minutes
• In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.
• If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.
• If you're making the dough by hand, add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then begin stirring in the flour. When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that the dough is soft but not too sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven, cut into slices and serve. .

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350-375. Sprinkle a surface with flour and roll out the dough, don't dismay if it is not a perfect circle. Place on an oiled baking sheet and brush a little bit of oil over the top of the dough then sprinkle with salt. Bake the dough until almost completely baked through and browned on the bottom. *Be sure not to fully bake the dough as you will remove it from the oven to add the toppings and then continue to bake it. While baking, put half of the tomatoes, a few leaves of basil, half of the Kalamata olives, the garlic cloves and the tomato sauce into a food processor and blend until smooth. Take the baked dough out of the oven and coat the top with the tomato mix. Cover the pizza with the mozzarella slices, salami, mushrooms, and leftover tomatoes, olives and basil. Place back in the oven and bake until the crust is slightly browned and the cheese is melted (10-15 minutes) Remove and enjoy!

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.
• Put the sauce in the center of the stretched dough and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly across the surface, stopping approximately 1/2 inch from the edges.
• Drizzle a little olive oil over the pie. Break the cheese into large pieces and place these gently on the sauce. Scatter basil leaves over the top.
• Using a pizza peel, pick up the pie and slide it onto the heated stone or tiles in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, approximately 4 to 8 minutes.

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone in the center rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F for 1 to 2 hours before you're ready to bake the pizza to get the stone nice and hot.
• Generously sprinkle a flat work surface with flour. Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the lightly floured pizza peel or unrimmed baking sheet so it can slide right onto the pizza stone in the oven. (I use the bottom of a baking sheet.)
• In a large bowl, hand crush the tomatoes, drizzle in a little olive oil and season with salt to taste. Spread the sauce on the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edges for the crust (my favorite part!). (Refrigerate the remaining sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days.) Tear the mozzarella into pieces and layer all over the pie. Sprinkle with Parmesan and basil and drizzle with oil.
• Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Use the peel or baking sheet to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. The heat from the stone will cook the bottom of the pizza and the boiler will char and cook the top, mimicking a Neapolitan pizza oven. Bake until the bottom is cooked and the top is charred, 5 to 6 minutes. Drizzle with more olive oil, basil and Parmesan. Slice the hot pizza and serve immediately.