Margherita Pizza
Recipe from Stefano Faita
Ingredients
Pizza dough
2 3/4 to 3 cups 00 flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1\4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
Assembly
Handful cornmeal
Stefano’s Basilic sauce
400 grams of mozzarella the buffalo, sliced or torn
1 small bunch basil, leaves removed
Extra virgin olive oil
Hot pepper oil, to finish (optional)
Method
Pizza dough
In a large bowl, combine 2 3/4 cups flour and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, add warm water, sugar and yeast. Stir to combine. Let sit until yeast starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add yeast mixture to flour mixture. Stir or work with your hands until dough starts to form into a ball. Transfer to work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 7 to 8 minutes, adding more flour if dough is sticky.
Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Store in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Punch down dough. Cut in 1/2. Roll each piece into a 10-inch round.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Put the Emile Henry pizza stone for 30 minutes in the oven.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto 2 pizza pans. Alternatively, if baking pizza on pizza stone, sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel so the pizza easily slides onto heated stone in the oven.
Top pizza with the basilic sauce, cheese and basil. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Put the pizza on the stone for 15 minutes.
Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive or hot pepper oil.
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