Homemade Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

• 16–18 oz. pizza dough, at room temperature
• 1/3 – 1/2 c. pizza sauce
• 4 oz. fresh Buffalo Mozzarella cheese, cubed or sliced, in strips
• freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, optional
• 3–4 fresh basil leaves, for topping
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Homemade Pizza Sauce: (makes 1 c.)
• 3 peeled tomatoes from a can of San Marzano peeled tomatoes plus 2 T. sauce from the can
• 1 t. olive oil
• pinch of salt, to taste

Steps

1. Pizza:
2. Remove pizza dough from the refrigerator prior to cooking.
3. Place dough in a greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Let rest for 2-3 hours or until dough is no longer cool to the touch. This is VERY important for a light, fluffy crust.
4. Homemade Sauce:
5. Combine the 3 tomatoes and the 2 T. sauce, oil, and salt in a small bowl; blend with an immersion blender until smooth or pulse a blender or food processor. Season with more salt, if needed. (This makes more sauce than needed. 1/3 to 1/2 c. sauce is needed for each pizza.) For a more rustic sauce, hand-crush the tomatoes or use a potato masher.
6. Pizza:
7. Preheat oven to 500-550 degrees F. Position an oven rack 8 inches from the top burner. Place a pizza steel (pizza pan) or pizza stone in the oven. Preheat oven to 500-550 degrees F. Preheat for 1 hour.
8. Place dough on a floured surface; shape and stretch dough into a 12-inch crust. Be sure the dough is adequately floured and not sticky. Try to get the crust as thin as possible in the center, about 1/4 inch thick.
9. Place a small handful of flour onto a pizza peel (tool for moving pizza); spread evenly to prevent the dough from sticking. Transfer dough onto the peel. Evenly coat with sauce, leaving a 1-inch crust all the way around. Add the fresh Mozzarella. Do not overcrowd. Top with a dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if desired.
10. Slide the finished pizza onto the steel/stone.
11. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until pizza is 80% done. Turn on the oven broiler; broil on High for 2-3 more minutes or until the crust is just starting to char.
12. Remove from the oven; let cool.
13. Serve topped with fresh basil leaves and a circular drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
14. 2-3 servings.
15. *While a pizza stone works, a pizza steel transfers more heat and gets hotter, rendering a better crust.