Cooking Corner: Margherita Pizza

Heather Berryhill joins the Cooking Corner to show us her recipe for a margherita pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Pizza Dough:

4 cups Bread Flour

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 envelope Instant Dry Yeast

2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

1.5 cups Warm Water

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil.

For the Pizza Toppings:

2, 8 oz packages of Sliced Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

2 Medium Heirloom Tomatoes

1 package of Fresh Basil

1, 15 oz can of Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 tablespoons Olive Oil.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450°F. .

To make the pizza dough, combine bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Beat until dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball. Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. .

To make the pizza, cut the tomatoes thinly and place on top of a paper towel. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Allow to sit to remove some of the water from the slices. .

While tomatoes are working their magic, sprinkle flour on countertop. Roll pizza dough out with a rolling pin into a nice circle to fit on your round pizza stone or round pan. (Note: You can also roll the dough to fit an 18” x 26” cookie sheet, as well.) .

Lightly grease stone or cookie sheet with olive oil and place rolled pizza crust on pan. .

Begin building your pizza by adding pizza sauce, tomato slices, basil, and torn mozzarella at the end. Brush edges of dough with 1 tablespoon olive oil and finish with a drizzle of olive oil over the top of your finished pizza (roughly 1 tablespoon) before going in to the oven. .

Bake your homemade pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. .

Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Serve and enjoy!

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15

Servings: 4