CHARLESTON MAGAZINE'S NEW ONLINE DINING GUIDE
The City Magazine Since 1975

Pizza Margherita

SERVES: 
8
Rate This Recipe: 
0
INGREDIENTS: 
  • 6 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 3/4 1/4-oz. pkg. yeast
  • 1/2 liter spring water
  • 2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
  • 15-oz. can whole San Marzano tomatoes (or substitute fresh)
  • 3 8-oz. pkgs. fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • Fresh basil, whole or torn
  • Olive oil, to taste
DIRECTIONS: 

Place flour in upright mixing bowl. Mix yeast with water for a few minutes, then add to flour and knead with dough hook for 15 minutes. Add salt and knead for two more minutes. Drizzle olive oil in a bowl that is double the size of the dough ball. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough proof for five to six hours at room temperature. After rise, divide and form pizza dough into eight balls (will yield approximately eight-inch pizzas). Place each ball on lightly floured baking sheet and cover with damp kitchen towel. Let rise again for two hours.

Preheat pizza stone in oven to 450°F. Stretch individual dough balls and form pizza crusts. Hand-crush whole tomatoes and spread evenly on pizza. Over the top, add a pinch of salt, a few slices of mozzarella, basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake one at a time until cooked through, five to eight minutes.