What's the secret to Italy's Napolitano pizza? I say its in the dough & sauce. The dough has to be soft & chewy on the inside with a slight crisp exterior. The sauce is a simple lightly seasoned tomato sauce. Of course, you can't forget the amazing toppings of Mozzarella di Bufala, fresh basil, & drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).
Having lived in Naples in my youth (the lovely early 80's), I was determined to find the best homemade recipe for the "Margarita" pizza. Over time & many pizzas later...I finally came up with the perfect recipe. From the dough to the sauce, to the fresh toppings, I'll share with you my secret to making the best homemade Italian pizza pie!..............
Dough recipe for 2 personal size (8 inch round) pizzas:
Ingredients:..............
2 1/2-3 cups of "King Arthur unbleached Bread Flour"......... 1/2 tsp of salt........ 150ml of warm water......... 1/2 tsp of sugar......... 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast (I use one small package of a 3 pack of "Fleischmann's" rapid rise highly active yeast......... Non stick spray.........olive oil...........................
Directions:...................................................................combine warm water, sugar, & yeast into a tall glass and let sit for 15-20 min. or until the yeast has a good 1-2 inch froth on top of the liquid............In a large bowl, add 1 cup of flour & salt and whisk to mix. Add the Yeast liquid to flour mix and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to add 1/4 cup of flour at a time and blend together. When the dough starts to get too thick to stir, turn out the dough mixture onto a cutting board lightly coated with flour. Begin kneading the dough with your hands and add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to take on a non sticky exterior and slightly sticky interior. Shape dough into ball & lightly dust the top with flour. Lightly grease the inside of a large bowl with olive oil.....place the dough ball into the bowl and cover with saran wrap.
Helpful Tip: Spray the dough side of the saran wrap with non stick spray. Set bowl aside and allow dough to rise for 1 hour........... After an hour, punch dough down, and gently reshape dough into ball, and let rise for another 1/2 hour. After the 1/2 hour the dough is now ready!...............................................
The Pizza Sauce Recipe :.....................................................
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Ingredients: One 28 oz. can of "Cento" crushed tomatoes (in the Italian section of your grocery store)...........1 tsp of oregano....ribboned fresh basil...1 garlic clove crushed....1/2 tsp salt....1 tsp of sugar...fresh ground pepper...1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)...drizzle of EVOO. ..................................
Directions: Combine above ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
FYI: There's no need to cook the sauce on the stove, as the hot oven does a great job of that when the pizza is cooking.
Helpful Tip: You may prepare the sauce in advance. This can be done either before you make the dough or the day before and refrigerate over night. By preparing the sauce in advance, this allows more time for the herbs to marinate in the tomato sauce resulting in a more intense/flavorful sauce!
Pizza Toppings: Mozzarella Di Buffala or Fresh Mozzarella thinly sliced, Fresh basil leaves, Drizzle of EVOO, Fresh ground pepper...................................
PREHEAT OVEN TO BAKE 500 DEGREES..........................................
You will need two 8 inch round cake pans. Lightly grease the bottom of the pans with olive oil and set aside near the dough...............................................
Separate the dough into two even sections. On a clean surface (counter or large cutting board) dusted with flour, begin to stretch your dough & shape into 8 inch circles. This takes about 20 min to allow for the dough to relax. Remember to occasionally add a dusting of flour under the dough so that you can easily lift it when its time to transfer it to the pan. Also, make sure there are no holes in your dough. If the dough tears or thins too much no biggie, just patch it up with a piece of dough from the edge. Once the dough is stretched into an 8 inch circle use dough scraper or metal spatula to lift the dough off of the surface and place into pans. Add a thin layer of sauce to your pizza dough leaving a 1/2 inch of the outer edge uncovered.
FYI: I selected the 8 inch cake pans because I found that the combination of the pan & thin layer of EVOO was the was the most effective way to get the bottom of the pizza dough slightly crisp in a home oven that only gets up to 500 degrees compared to the Italian wood fired ovens that get to over 1000 degrees.
Top your pizza off with 5-6 pieces of mozzarella, generous screw of fresh ground pepper, and drizzle of EVOO.
Place pizzas into oven and bake for 10 minutes! Remove pizzas from pans with tongs and place onto cooling rack. Let cool for 5 minutes so cheese can set prior to slicing and serving. Add fresh basil.
Suggestion: Serve this pizza with an arugula salad tossed with freshly squeezed lemon, dash of kosher salt, and drizzle of EVOO...........
Suggested Wine pairing: Chianti, Zinfandel, or Prosecco would would be delightful!
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Enjoy your little taste of Italia! Buon Appetito!
