Pizza Margherita
October 28, 2009
Last night, I had pulled the pizza dough I'd been waiting to use all weekend out of the fridge and started preheating the oven when the phone rang.
It was one of the managers at the dining hall calling to ask if I could possibly come into work that evening. (I cursed myself for answering the phone). I could have said no, and I seriously considered it...I mean, c'mon! Who hasn't thought about blowing off work to stay home and make pizza?
But I didn't. I put the pizza dough back in the fridge, turned off the oven, and dug a clean uniform out of my closet. Tonight when I actually got to make the pizza, it was all the more glorious for the waiting.
Ingredients:
For the pizza dough, use the recipe I used for my pesto pizza-it's reprinted at the bottom of the page.
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated provolone cheese
a handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced into thin strips
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Stretch the dough with your hands into the desired size and shape for your pizza. Brush both sides of the dough with olive oil, place the dough on a cookie sheet, and prebake the dough for about 5 minutes until it has started to form a hard crust. Spread the tomato sauce onto the crust, then sprinkle the cheeses on top and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheeses have melted. Sprinkle the basil on top of the pizza and serve.
Pizza dough recipe:
Ingredients:
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast (I actually used a full packet of dry active yeast, which worked fine)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cup warm water
Put the warm water in a small bowl and add the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes to get the yeasty beasties all happy and active.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast and water, as well as the olive oil, and mix well. Use your hands to mix the dough to a uniform consistency. Form dough into a ball, and let sit covered in a warm place for one hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees at this point. Divide the dough into two balls for two large pizzas, or four balls for four small pizzas. Put the dough you don't plan to use in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It can be saved for up to one month. Use the rest of the dough as directed in the recipe.
It was one of the managers at the dining hall calling to ask if I could possibly come into work that evening. (I cursed myself for answering the phone). I could have said no, and I seriously considered it...I mean, c'mon! Who hasn't thought about blowing off work to stay home and make pizza?
But I didn't. I put the pizza dough back in the fridge, turned off the oven, and dug a clean uniform out of my closet. Tonight when I actually got to make the pizza, it was all the more glorious for the waiting.
Ingredients:
For the pizza dough, use the recipe I used for my pesto pizza-it's reprinted at the bottom of the page.
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated provolone cheese
a handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced into thin strips
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Stretch the dough with your hands into the desired size and shape for your pizza. Brush both sides of the dough with olive oil, place the dough on a cookie sheet, and prebake the dough for about 5 minutes until it has started to form a hard crust. Spread the tomato sauce onto the crust, then sprinkle the cheeses on top and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheeses have melted. Sprinkle the basil on top of the pizza and serve.
Pizza dough recipe:
Ingredients:
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast (I actually used a full packet of dry active yeast, which worked fine)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cup warm water
Put the warm water in a small bowl and add the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes to get the yeasty beasties all happy and active.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast and water, as well as the olive oil, and mix well. Use your hands to mix the dough to a uniform consistency. Form dough into a ball, and let sit covered in a warm place for one hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees at this point. Divide the dough into two balls for two large pizzas, or four balls for four small pizzas. Put the dough you don't plan to use in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It can be saved for up to one month. Use the rest of the dough as directed in the recipe.
Posted by Emma Barker. Posted In : entrees
