Perfect Homemade Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

For the pizza dough

1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel

For the pizza sauce

1 small garlic clove (1/2 medium)
15 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes or high quality organic canned tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the toppings

1/4 to 1/3 cup pizza sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheese or 2 to 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
A few fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
Make the pizza sauce: Cut the garlic into a few rough pieces. Place the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until fully combined. (You’ll use about 1/3 cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
Prepare the cheese: If using fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it into 1/4 inch thick pieces (see the photos of the pre-baked pizza above). If it’s incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you may want to let it sit on a paper towel to remove moisture for about 15 minutes then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove any additional moisture.
Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately..............................next page