Authentic Pizza Margherita

Directions

1. Stir flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
6. 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.
7. 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.

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Reviews (15)

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18

rzmom

May. 19, 2012

"Very quick, easy and came out great. I preheated my oven a bit before placing the bowl of dough in it and it doubled in about 20 minutes...." See more"

16

I don't have an alias

May. 13, 2012

"This makes a delicious pizza. It takes some time and effort but well worth it. I followed as directed and had excellent results. My first time baking a pizza on a stone, will not make one any other..." See more way now. I made only 1 pizza, wrapped remaining 3 balls with plastic wrap and put in fridge. Next day removed one, let come to room temp and punched back down. Made pizza, came out as perfect as the first. The whole family loved this pizza. Thank you for the recipe."

15

The Pontificator

Jul. 5, 2012

"I substitute 1/4 cup cornmeal for flour. I've also found that whole milk mozzarella is easier to handle in a semi-frozen state and I cube it instead of just slice it. My "pizza sauce" is little more..." See more than a can of drained plum tomatoes which I puree with an immersion blender and add a little bit of olive oil, black pepper, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Simple."