MARGHERITA PIZZA

Margherita Pizza image

Provided by Food Network

Time P1DT1h40m

Yield Four 10-inch pizzas

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
5 1/2 cups "00" pizza flour, such as Caputo
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Two 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, packed in puree
Kosher salt
Fine semolina, for dusting
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
16 fresh basil leaves
Olive oil

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!