Pizza Margherita

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

Proofing1

Total Time1 46

Servings: 3 round pizzas

Calories: 285kcal

Author: The Orange Baker

Large bowl
Dough scraper
Measuring cup, scale, small bowl
Kitchen towel, clean film or cover lid for the bowl
Rolling pin, flour for rolling the dough into shape
Pizza stone, or a thick, heavy baking sheet and baking parchment paper, capable of withstanding high temperatures
A pizza peel, or large flat baking sheet with no edges if you use the stone, coarse semolina flour
Pizza wheel

Put all the flour in the bowl. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl, and the salt and sugar to the other side. The salt and yeast should not come in direct contact or the yeast will lose its effect. Add the water in small pours on the yeast, and start mixing with your fingers. Slowly add more water, and when you have added about 75% of the water, add the oil and continue mixing. Slowly add water until the dough is coarse and rough, but not wet as mud.
You might not need all water, or some more: you will look for that magic balance between too little water, making the dough tough, and too wet, making it really hard to knead. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky: when you continue kneading, the flour will absorb the water and become more silk. When you are happy with the mix, turn over the bowl on the clean kitchen table top. You can lightly grease the kitchen top, but this is not crucial.

Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, until the texture of the dough has changed into a soft, smooth and silky feel. If you find the dough to be too tough and dry along the way, have a measuring cup with water standing by. It will suffice wetting your hands and continuing kneading. Adding gulps of water is more than likely to be too much: adding bit by bit by kneading with your wet hands will give you control. The dough is ready when you are able create a window of about half a centimeter thick between your hands when you pull the dough apart. If it tears and raffles easily, continue for a bit.
If you already know you have more dough than you can eat or want to use that day, cut the dough into 2, 3 or 4 pieces, and wrap the dough you plan not to use in freezer safe clean wrap and freeze it before you proof it. The temperature of the freezer will knock out the yeast, but defrosting will bring it to life. Make flat disc-shaped pieces: a ball will thaw from the outside and start proofing, while the inside is still frozen. Your dough will look weird. A flat disc will help to defrost quicker. Defrost by placing in the fridge, which will take a couple of hours or on the counter top. Remember that defrosting will also start the proofing process: plan accordingly.

Grease up your large, clean bowl with a little bit of olive oil, and place the bowl, covered by the lid cover, kitchen towel or clean film on warm spot. Avoid direct heat or the full hot sun as this will dry out your dough. Leave to rise for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size.
We are only going to proof this once.

In the meantime, prepare your toppings for the pizza. You can have a field day, here. See below for some thoughts on the correct use of toppings. Preheat the oven: I advise at least 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8, but if your oven can exceed that, do it. The hotter the better. If you use a pizza stone, place the stone in the cold oven and allow for it to heat up along with the oven. Never place your cold stone in a preheated oven.
Use the dough scraper to release the dough from the sides of the bowl, and turn it on the kitchen counter top. Cut in 2 pieces for a sheet pizza and 3 pieces for round pizzas. Do not tear the dough when you split it up: use the dough scraper to divide the dough.
Dust a large, clear area of the counter top and use the rolling pin to flatten the dough. Turn 45 degrees and roll the pin, turn 45 degrees again, and roll the pin. Repeat this until you have reached the desired consistency. Turning the dough will allow for round pizza shapes for the smaller pieces. The large pieces have enough dough to be allowed to be formed in the signature rectangle shape. Leave for 5 minutes, and repeat the steps. Carefully place the shaped dough on the baking sheet.
If you use the pizza stone, prepare the pizza on the counter top. Line the baking sheet or pizza peel with semolina flour: that will act like little ball bearings so you pizza will slide in the oven (instead of just the toppings)

Bake for about 10 to 14 minutes. When the cheese starts to bubble and the crust is brown, it is done. Baking it for the maximum 14 minutes will make your pizza crunchy, but that needs to be your preference. If you have more balls of dough, repeat steps 6 through 9.
When ready, slide the pizza on a large plate and cut with a pizza wheel. The pizza will be painfully hot coming out of the oven, but as it is thin, will cool off quickly.

You can use whatever topic you want, as long as you remember the following:
Do not overload your pizza, and wet toppings, like slices of tomato or pineapple, have the risk of making the bottom soggy. That is no problem, but it is nicer to have it dry and crisp.
When you use tiny tomatoes, cut them in half and place them on the pizza with the sliced side up, to prevent leaking. I use San Marzano tomatoes because they are both sweet and a tiny bit bitter.
Cheese, cheese, cheese –I will be the first to agree, but too much cheese (and especially the fat from the cheese) will also soggify the pizza crust. Moderation is key. Buffalo mozzarella is nice, but is wetter.
It is your pizza. If you like specific combinations, knock yourself out. The classics are classics for a reason, but I am not scared of experimenting. I never had a pizza with sweet onion and dark chocolate and I am curious how it tastes. Pineapples (the dreaded Pizza Hawaii) is no pizza according to the Italians, but it is popular for a reason: it tastes sweet, and nice. If you feel like it, don’t let conventions stop you.
Be careful with the amount of anchovies. It has a stronger taste and is far saltier than you would guess from the size.
You bake the pizza very hot, and also very short. Slice and cut ingredients in small pieces to ensure they all cook through and through. Be careful with larger pieces of fish and meat (chicken!). Precook to be sure.