Pizza Marguerita de Tomate, Mussarela e Manjericão

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Measuring cups and spoons
• •Baking sheet or pizza stone
• •Parchment paper
• •Spatula or pizza peel

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   Put the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and stir with your hand so the yeast and salt don't sit in one angry little corner. Add the warm water and olive oil, then mix until no dry flour is left. The dough should look shaggy and sticky, not elegant. That's fine. Dry dough makes tough pizza, and tough pizza is how people start blaming themselves instead of the recipe.

   The water should feel warm like a bath, not hot. Hot water can kill the yeast, and then the dough just sits there sulking.
2. 2

   Knead until smooth

   Tip the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Push it away with the heel of your hand, fold it back, turn it, and repeat. At first it sticks and looks hopeless. Keep going. When it turns smoother, springs back slowly when pressed, and feels elastic instead of pasty, it's ready. Kneading builds the stretch that lets the dough puff instead of tearing under the sauce.

3. 3

   Let it rise

   Oil the bowl lightly, put the dough back in, cover it, and leave it in a warm corner until puffy and almost doubled, about 1 hour. Don't stare at the clock like it's the boss of you. Look at the dough. Yeast works by time and temperature, so a cold kitchen takes longer and a warm one moves faster.

4. 4

   Make the sauce

   Stir the crushed tomatoes with the grated garlic, olive oil, salt, and oregano if using. Taste it. It should be bright, lightly salty, and tomato-forward. Don't cook it into a heavy paste. The oven will concentrate it, and a fresh sauce keeps this pizza from tasting tired.

5. 5

   Heat the oven

   Put a baking sheet upside down or a pizza stone in the oven and heat to 250°C or 480°F for at least 25 minutes. A hot surface hits the dough fast, browning the bottom before the toppings make it soggy. A lukewarm tray gives you pale bread with cheese on top. We can do better.

6. 6

   Shape the rounds

   Divide the dough in two. On a floured surface, press one piece from the center outward, leaving a slightly thicker edge. Stretch it gently into a 25 to 28 cm round. If it snaps back, cover it and let it rest 5 minutes. Dough that fights you isn't disobedient, it's tense. Rest relaxes it, and suddenly you're not wrestling dinner.

7. 7

   Top with restraint

   Move the shaped dough onto parchment. Spread on a thin layer of sauce, about 1/3 cup, leaving the edge bare. Add 1 cup of mussarela and half the tomato slices. Stop there. Too much topping weighs the dough down and traps water, and then you get a soft middle pretending to be pizza.

8. 8

   Bake until browned

   Slide the parchment and pizza onto the hot sheet or stone. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edge is puffed and browned in spots, the cheese is melted and glossy, and the bottom feels crisp when lifted with a spatula. Repeat with the second pizza. If the top browns before the bottom, move the next pizza lower in the oven.

9. 9

   Finish with basil

   Scatter fresh basil over the pizza after it comes out of the oven, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Basil goes on at the end because high heat bruises it and steals its perfume. Cut, serve, and eat while the edge still crackles lightly under your teeth.

Chef Tips

• •Use ripe tomatoes when they're actually good, which usually means cheap, local, and smelling like tomato. If the fresh tomatoes are pale and sad, use only the sauce and wait for better ones. Don't make the season's problem your fault.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut is store-bought pizza dough from a bakery or supermarket refrigerator case. It saves time. It won't teach your hands the dough the same way, but it still keeps dinner in real-food territory.
• •Skip powdered tomato sauce, powdered cheese mixes, and seasoning packets. That's not a shortcut, that's imitation food in a costume. Tomato, garlic, salt, olive oil. Four things. We can manage four things.
• •Grate the mussarela yourself if you can. Pre-grated cheese often has starch on it so it doesn't clump in the bag, and that can make the melt a little dry.
• •If your pizza is soggy, the usual suspects are a cold oven, too much sauce, watery tomatoes, or too much cheese. Recipes que funcionam also teach you where things went sideways.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rise slowly in the fridge for 8 to 24 hours after mixing. Bring it to room temperature for 45 minutes before shaping.
• •The sauce can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• •Baked pizza is best fresh, but leftover slices keep 2 days in the fridge. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat until the bottom crisps again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)