Pizza Margherita

My oldest sister Heather is a pizza FANATIC!! Every time I talk to her she always seems to be eating it! Naturally, after talking with her about pizza , it makes me crave that melted fresh mozzarella cheese, piping hot marinara sauce, and fresh basil.. yum. So I decided to make my own rather than ordering the greasy pizza that come from restaurants. And to me... nothing beats a made from scratch pizza with homemade crust

Ingredients for Neapolitan Pizza Dough (thin crust, but not cracker thin)

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
1 2/3 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour, plus extra for kneading
3/4 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast into the lukewarm water. Let stand until creamy for about 10 minutes.

Stir in olive oil and the cold water, and then whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt, stirring until smooth.

 Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together in a rough mass.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and velvety, about 8-10 minutes. It will be soft. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes

Divide into two equal portions, knead briefly, then roll each portion into a tight round ball. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the balls, cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

When dough is ready, press your fingers into the middle of the dough ball and massage dough outward making a flat disk. Keep spreading the dough into a nice thing crust.

Ingredients for Pizza Topping

Flour for dusting

1/3 cup Tomato-Basil Sauce

6 fresh basil leaves

1/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Pre heat your oven to 500 degrees

Place the Tomato-Basil sauce in the center of the dough. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread the sauce over the dough leaving a 1in border free of sauce. Place the mozzarella slice atop the sauce the place the basil atop the cheese evenly over the pizza. Place on pizza brick and a regular cookie sheet and bake  for 8-9 minutes until the edges are golden brown.