Pizza Margherita

This pizza was all Miss F's creation. She spooned out the sauce, scattered the cheese and artfully arranged the basil. She also made a plain cheese pizza for herself because she didn't want green leaves on her pizza. Her loss. Pizza Margherita is one of my most favorite ways to have pizza, especially with fresh basil from my mom's garden. I like the simpleness of plain crushed tomatoes and shredded mozzarella to top this pizza.  The dough was perfect, just the right amount of chewiness.  The pizza dough recipe is adapted from Feeling Foodish.

Margherita Pizza

3 cups flour
½ teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil

1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella
handful of basil leaves

Mix together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the warm water into the flour mixture, stir until all the flour is incorporated. Add the oil and use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough for five minutes. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and place in sealed quart-sized container or freezer bag and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours.

The following day, remove the dough balls within two hours of baking to allow the dough to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone inside. Open each dough ball and transfer to parchment paper. Top with the crushed tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves. Transfer the parchment paper to the pizza stone and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Serve.

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