Food Candy: Pizza Magherita

You can't live in Italy for four months without coming away with an almost sacred reverence for the true Italian pizza with it's delicately thin crust and fresh mozarella. I'd never found a pizza (either homemade or restaurant-produced) that came close to the wonder of a real pizza magherita, until my sister (my recipe provider) sent me Cook's Illustrated's "Italian Favorites" collection. This pizza has quickly become one of David and my favorite meals. So quick, simple, and delicious. Almost, almost as good as the real thing. So it must be shared.

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup water, room temperature
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk yeast into water to dissolve. In food processor fitted with metal blade, process flours, salt, and sugar until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, slowly add liquid through feed tube; continue to process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of workbowl, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (Add more dough or water as needed.) Divide dough in half and shape into two smooth, tight balls. Place on floured counter or baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Here's my dough after rising for about 4 hours. I think the mixture of regular flour and cake flour really allows the dough to retain it's delicate silkiness without becoming too heavy.

Pizza Topping

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I prefer Muir Glen organic tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Table salt
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

In clean bowl of food processor, process tomatoes until crushed, 2 or 3 one-second pulses. Transfer tomatoes to a fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and let drain at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release liquids. Just before shaping pizza rounds, combine drained tomatoes, sugar, garlic, some of the basil, and 1/4 teaspoons salt into bowl.

Here are my tomatoes draining into a bowl. Straining the tomatoes helps prevent the topping from becoming too liquidy and making the crust too soggy, especially in the center. Could this topping be any easier? It's awesome.

Okay, so now we're ready to shape the dough and get to cooking. Set your pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (It takes my oven about 15 minutes to get hot enough.) Dust dough liberally with flour and transfer balls to well-floured work surface. Press one ball into 8-inch disk. Using flattened palms, gently stretch disk into a 12-inch circle, working along outer edge. (I often use a rolling pin as well.) When the oven is hot enough, remove the pizza stone and place the dough onto the stone. (This is made significantly easier if you have a pizza peel, but you can make do without it too.) Spread a thin layer of half of the topping onto the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Put in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and top pizza with half of the cheese chunks, spaced evenly apart. Return pizza to the oven and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and started to bubble.

Here's all my ingredients getting ready for the pizza making.

When the pizza is done, transfer to a cutting board, sprinkle with fresh basil and 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Slice and serve immediately. Repeat with the second pizza.

Doesn't it look fantastic? And it's so quick and easy too, especially if you make the dough in the morning and it's already risen and ready to go when you get home from work.

Here's David all excited for his first bite of pizza. (Excuse his cheesy face....he likes to be silly.) Despite its thin crust, the pizza is quite filling. David and I generally only eat one pizza between the two of us (unless we're feeling especially hungry) and save the second one to make for lunch (or dinner) the next day. Two pizzas is more than adequate to feed 2 adults and some children.

Enjoy!