Pizza Margherita Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with rack in lower third lined with a pizza stone or baking sheet. Turn dough out onto a pizza peel or thin wooden cutting board dusted with semolina (do not punch down). Starting in center and using both hands, press down and outward with your fingertips, rotating dough occasionally. Gradually work toward edges, leaving a 1-inch border of undisturbed dough, until it's stretched to an approximately 13-inch round.
• Lightly drizzle dough with oil; season with salt and pepper. Gently spread sauce evenly to just inside border, top evenly with mozzarella, and sprinkle with Parmigiano. With one quick forward-and-back jerking motion, slide pizza from peel onto stone. (This is not the moment to hesitate! Be brave and bold, and the pizza will slide off the peel.)
• Bake until crust is puffed, golden brown in places, and set on bottom, and cheese is bubbly, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pizza to a wire rack; let cool 2 to 3 minutes. Top with basil and pepper flakes, slice, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 13-in. circle. Transfer to two greased 14-in. pizza pans; build up edges slightly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel; let rest for 10 minutes., Spoon tomatoes over dough. Top with basil, oregano, cheese, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil. Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Shape flour into a mound and make an indentation on the top. Pour the oil into the indentation and add the salt. Melt the yeast in a cup of tepid water and pour it into the middle. Start kneading the dough with your hands until all the yeast is absorbed and the dough feels elastic, firm, and looks shiny. See Cook's note*.
• Roll it into a ball, sprinkle with flour and place in a bowl. Make a cross on the top. Cover with a cloth and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour in winter and 30 minutes in summer.
• Stretch the dough and then roll it out with a rolling pin on a floury surface, until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Cover the surface of a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place dough on baking sheet and press the edges in firmly with your fingers. Add tomatoes, reserving a little of the juice, and drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add chopped mozzarella. Tear the remaining basil leaves and scatter over mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan and the rest of the tomato juice. Cook for 5 minutes. Eat immediately.
• Cut the tomatoes in half. As you drop them into a medium-sized bowl squeeze them with your hands so that the juice comes out. Add garlic, olive oil, salt, and half the basil leaves. Leave to marinate while the dough rises.

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:

• Put pizza stone on oven floor if using a gas oven; on the lowest rack if using electric oven (remove all other racks in either case).
• Preheat oven to highest temperature (500). Allow about 1 hour to preheat the stone.
• Prepare the Topping:.
• Combine tomatoes, salt and 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Simmer stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 1 cup (10-15 minutes). Tranfers to bowl to cool.
• Toss together mozzarella and remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
• Shape the dough: See Recipe #236785.
• Assemble and bake the pizza:.
• Sprinkle baker's peel with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Carefully slide dough onto peel, then jerk peel once or twice: If dough sticks, lift it and sprinkle a little more cornmeal underneath.
• Optional: rub slit clove of garlic over dough.
• Spread tomato sauce evenly over dough, leaving 1/2 inch border and top sauce with mozzarella.
• Line up far edge of peel with far edge of stone and tilt peel, jerking it gently to start pizza moving. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back peel to transfer pizza to stone (do not pull pizza back).
• Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbling, about 8 minutes. Slide peel under pizza to remove from oven, then scatter basil leaves on top.

Steps:

• Stir flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Set aside.
• Mix water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Stir half the flour mixture into yeast mixture until no dry spots remain. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When dough pulls together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide into 4 equal pieces, and form each into a ball.
• Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stretch out and pat 1 dough ball to form a circle 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Place dough on a lightly floured pizza peel. Top with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and spread to cover within an inch of the edge of the dough. Arrange 5 slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the tomato sauce, then place 5 basil leaves on top. Drizzle pizza with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Repeat for 3 remaining dough balls.
• Slide each pizza onto the pizza stone in the preheated oven. Bake until cheese is bubbly and the underside of the crust is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine the sugar, oil, yeast and 2 cups cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let the mixture sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. With the motor running, slowly add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Keep mixing until a smooth, elastic dough forms, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into four 12-ounce pieces and shape into balls. Transfer the balls to a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish and brush with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
• For the sauce: Remove each tomato from the can and reserve 3 cups of the puree. Cut the tomatoes in half and, using your fingers, remove and discard the seeds (don't rinse). Place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse until just crushed but not pureed. (Alternatively, crush the tomatoes by hand or pass them through a food mill.) Transfer the tomato sauce to a bowl and stir in the reserved 3 cups of puree and some salt.
• For the pizza: Place a pizza stone under the oven broiler. Preheat the broiler for 30 minutes.
• Working in four batches, dust a ball of dough heavily with semolina. Using your fingertips, press the dough from the center out, into a 10-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick, leaving a 1-inch thick crust around the edges.
• Hold the dough straight up, and with your fingertips circling the crust, let the dough naturally fall. Slide your fingers around crust in a circular motion (like you would turn a steering wheel) until the dough in the center is stretched to about 1/8-inch thick. Repeat for the remaining dough balls. Transfer the dough to a semolina-dusted pizza peel.
• Spread each pizza with about 1/2 cup sauce evenly over center of the dough, distribute a quarter each of the cheese and basil leaves, and drizzle with oil. Slide a pizza onto the stone and broil until the cheese melts and the crust is puffed and charred in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat for the remaining pizzas. Serve hot. 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 500 degrees. Lightly oil two 14-inch pizza pans; set aside.
• Divide dough in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap while working with the other. Working on a lightly floured surface, use fingers to flatten and stretch half the dough into a rough 8-inch circle. Transfer to one of the prepared pans or onto a pizza peel. Continue pressing dough outward until it just fits inside rim of pan or reaches almost to the edge of the stone. Dough should be less than 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread 1/2 cup tomatoes on each pizza in a thin, even layer. Sprinkle each round with half the mozzarella. Transfer to oven, and bake until golden and crusty, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with basil. Drizzle with oil, season with salt to taste, and serve immediately.