Margarita Pizza Recipes

MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the Sauce: In a medium bowl, stir together the tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar, pepper, and oil. (Alternatively, for a completely smooth sauce, you can blend the ingredients in a small food processor or blender.)
• Preheat the oven to 500°F and set an oven rack in the bottom position. Dust a 13x18-inch baking sheet with half of the cornmeal.
• On a lightly floured surface, using your hands, stretch and press one ball of dough into an 11-inch round. Transfer the dough to the cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, and gently stretch it out again so that it maintains its shape.
• Spread ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 7 minutes, until the crust is partially cooked. Remove from the oven, and scatter half of the mozzarella cubes over the sauce, followed by half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Slide the pan back into the oven and cook until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 4 minutes more. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with the basil and slice. Repeat with the remaining pizza dough and ingredients. (If you'd like to bake the two pizzas at the same time, you can fire up two ovens. Or, if you don't mind the crust a little thicker, you can form the two dough balls into 8x12-inch rectangles and place them side by side on the baking sheet.)
• Note: This recipe makes enough sauce for 4 (11-inch) pizzas. Refrigerate extra sauce for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 13-in. circle. Transfer to two greased 14-in. pizza pans; build up edges slightly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel; let rest for 10 minutes., Spoon tomatoes over dough. Top with basil, oregano, cheese, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil. Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

CLASSIC MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with rack in lower third lined with a pizza stone or baking sheet. Turn dough out onto a pizza peel or thin wooden cutting board dusted with semolina (do not punch down). Starting in center and using both hands, press down and outward with your fingertips, rotating dough occasionally. Gradually work toward edges, leaving a 1-inch border of undisturbed dough, until it's stretched to an approximately 13-inch round.
• Lightly drizzle dough with oil; season with salt and pepper. Gently spread sauce evenly to just inside border, top evenly with mozzarella, and sprinkle with Parmigiano. With one quick forward-and-back jerking motion, slide pizza from peel onto stone. (This is not the moment to hesitate! Be brave and bold, and the pizza will slide off the peel.)
• Bake until crust is puffed, golden brown in places, and set on bottom, and cheese is bubbly, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pizza to a wire rack; let cool 2 to 3 minutes. Top with basil and pepper flakes, slice, and serve immediately.

MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• If using classic crust: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. If using thin crust: Heat oven to 400degreesF. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake up to 2 minutes longer.
• Spray or grease 15 x 10-inch or larger dark or nonstick cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookie sheet with cornmeal. Unroll dough on cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out dough into 15 x 10-inch rectangle. Brush dough with oil; sprinkle evenly with garlic.
• Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over crust. Arrange tomato slices over cheese. Sprinkle with half of the basil.
• Bake classic crust 14 to 16 minutes, thin crust 12 to 14 minutes, or until crust is deep golden brown. Sprinkle remaining half of basil over pizza. Cut into 5 rows by 4 rows.

BOBBY FLAY'S MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Prepare the grill for direct and indirect cooking.
• Once the grill is hot (you can hold your hands an inch over the grates for no more than 2 seconds), stretch and shape the dough into a 12-inch round on a flat surface. Brush the top with oil, salt and pepper and toss on the grill, oil-side down. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, 1 minute. Check the bottom of the dough to see if it is getting browned. If it is on one part, but not the other, use a spatula or tongs to rotate the dough 90 degrees and cook for another minute. If it is still not beginning to brown, cover the grill and continue to cook a minute at a time until the bottom has browned evenly. (It should only take a couple minutes if you have a hot grill.) The top of the pizza dough will also start bubbling up with air pockets.
• Once the pizza dough has browned on the bottom, flip over and grill until golden brown and the dough is just firm, another minute or so. Remove to a sheet pan. Cover the grill so it retains the heat for the next step.
• Drizzle the top with more olive oil. Put the mozzarella and tomato slices on top and season with salt and pepper. Return the pizza to the grill on the sheet pan, cover the grill and cook for 3 or 4 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the grill and tear the basil leaves over the top. Slice and serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

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