Pizza Margherita! (CONTEST IS CLOSED)
Today Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day
was published! Time to start baking from it, so I’m posting one of our favorite doughs from the book. I have to admit it took a while to decide which one to share, since our favorite seems to change with our moods. This Olive Oil Dough is fantastic for a thin crust, a thick crust and so many worldly flatbreads. No matter the technique you decide to try, you’ll love the results.
I like to make the classic Pizza Margherita, it’s the ultimate in Italian toppings. In fact, the colors resemble the Italian flag and the pizza was named for the Italian queen, Margherita, because she fell in love with it. Nothing but tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. So pure and so tasty.
Pizza Margherita
Olive Oil Dough from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day:
3 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Yeast
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
7 1/2 cups (scoop and sweep) unbleached all-purpose flour
Toppings:
1/3 cup tomato (Sauce recipe p. 109 or drain diced tomato straight from the can)
3 ounces Fresh Mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
Fresh Basil
Olive oil for drizzling over the top before baking
Pinch of salt
Flour, cornmeal or parchment for the pizza peel
To make the dough: Use our dump and stir method of mixing the dough in a 5-quart Container with Lid, using a Danish Dough Whisk or wooden spoon. Then cover the container, not airtight and let it rest for about 2 hours on the counter. The dough can then be used right away, but it is much easier to handle once it has been thoroughly chilled. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks!
To make the pizza:
Preheat your oven to the highest setting, which will be 500 to 550°F, with a pizza stone in the bottom 1/3 of the oven. Depending on the thickness of your stone this can take between 20 and 40 minutes.
Pull out an 8-ounce piece of dough from your bucket and quickly form it into a ball, no more than 30 seconds of work. Let it sit on the counter while you gather your toppings.
Roll the ball out into a 1/8-inch-thick round. If the ball is resisting just let it sit for about 5 minutes and it will relax and allow you to work with it.
Sprinkle a Pizza Peel with flour. Spread the tomato over the dough.
Place the chunks of cheese over the sauce and drizzle with the olive oil.
Check for doneness in about 8 to 10 minutes, turn the pizza around if it seems to be browning on one side more than the other. It may take up to 5 more minutes.
Let the pizza cool slightly, so the cheese can set a little before cutting with a Pizza Cutter. This is best done on a cooling rack if you want to keep a crisp bottom crust.
Using the freezer to save even more time
You can freeze my doughs anytime during their batch life, for up to two weeks. Make half-pound (orange-size) balls and wrap them well before freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then use as usual. With the assistance of your freezer, there are three more ways to save even more time:
- To freeze prepared 1/8-inch thick dough disks, set up cookie sheets with parchment paper and freeze prepared dough disks on the parchment. As soon as they’re set (about 30 to 40 minutes), stack them, leaving parchment paper between disks. Pack into gallon-size ziplock bags, then freeze and use within three weeks. Bake them still frozen by placing, un-thawed, on a greased baking sheet, assembling the pizza, and then baking in a preheated oven. If you bake right on the parchment you can place it directly onto a preheated baking stone.
- To freeze a pre-baked pizza crust: Bake the crusts “blind”, docking (puncturing) them well with a fork, removing them from the oven when they just begin to brown (about four minutes). Check for puffing at one minute and dock again if you see any or you’ll end up with pita bread. Allow to cool on a rack before separating crusts with parchment or wax paper and freezing in a ziplock bag. These will be far superior to store-bought pre-baked pizza crusts, just as convenient, and a little quicker-baking than using unbaked frozen dough (see above). You can bake them frozen or defrosted (when using frozen crusts it will take a few more minutes to complete the baking).
- To freeze a pre-baked pizza: Bake a pizza as usual, and allow it to cool completely. Freeze in a heavy-duty freezer bag, preferably zip-lock. When ready to use, remove from bag, and place on a preheated baking stone for about 10 minutes (watch carefully to prevent scorching and consider lower baking temperature if you’re finding the pizza dry). While this method won’t be quite as impressive as the other methods on this list, it’s clearly the fastest.
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I love anything and everything with bacon bits 😀 But I would have to say chicken artichoke with an alfredo sauce is my top favorite right now
Pizza Margherita is one of my all time favs. But veggie is right up there too!
My favorite pizza has thick cut spicy pepperoni and a sauce that isn’t too sweet. I like really thin crust pizza, but I also like “Detroit Style” pizza. Thanks!
I love pizza! My favorite is ham, ground beef and extra cheese. Also like ham and pineapple pizza or chicken and garlic pizza with a white sauce.
I look forward to trying the Pizza Margherita! Hope it’s as good as the ones you get in Italy!!
The favorite pizzas in our house are sausage, caramelized onions and Fontina cheese and spinach, artichoke hearts and Feta.
My favorite pizza is thin crust with lots of cheese !!!
My favorite (lately) is a prosciutto caramelized onion pizza made with fresh mozzarella. Love your books!
My favorite pizza is grilled (BBQ) with parmesan, sausage, hot peppers and green onions. So light, crispy, fresh! We make grilled pizza all the time, throwing whatever toppings we have around at the time (I’ve been known to have some wacky combinations).
So no Olive Oil in the Olive Oil dough recipe? I thought maybe it was a typo.
Tim
Tim: This isn’t the olive oil dough– it only has olive oil as a topping… Jeff
My favorite pizza – your WW bread dough for the crust, onions, peppers, pineapple tidbits, mushrooms and cheese. Thanks for all the great posts.
My all-time favorite is a Margherita pizza. The best I ever had was at a place in Florence, Italy. It was the only pizza place in Italy that we came across that would let us add toppings, so I added garlic to the Margherita. *gasp* They looked at me like I spit in their faces. Who cares? It was delish!!
Margherita is my ultimate favorite pizza! I can’t wait to get your new book and try out more fun recipes!
I love pesto pizzas, and a local parlor makes lasagna pizza that is out of this world! Thanks so much for this blog, I love all of the ideas and pictures.
My current favorite pizza is a tomato sauce topped with caramelized onions, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers and of course, lots of cheese.
My favorite pizza is my own recipe and it is a grilled chicken pizza with a teriyaki sauce. I have a daughter with a casein allergy so I have created several dairy free pizzas that are a hit with my family. Can’t wait to see your new book. Your first two books are wonderful I use them several times a week!
My favorite is homemade and topped with Goat Cheese and Sundried tomatoes. Yummy! Can’t wait to see and buy the new book!!!!
At our house it’s all pepperoni, all of the time. This year I grew basil in a pot to add to the toppings, and I love a little diced fresh mushrooms.
Love anchovie pizza but for company and family also make basil, tomato, cracked pepper, roasted tomato, roasted garlic and roasted red bell pepper. Love to make as a flatbread style to serve with salad, soup and pasta dishes as well as just pizza. Love all of your books and can’t wait to purchase the new one.
Pizza Margherita is my favorite pizza!!! Love you guys!!!
My favorite pizza is Canadian bacon & pineapple. Love the sweet & salty combo.
My favorite pizza is breakfast pizza with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes and feta cheese.
My son, age 3, always has creative ideas for pizzas. His last creation was a crushed graham cracker/sausage pizza (with an assortment of fresh veggies sprinkled liberally). It was surprisingly tasty!
My favorite is ham with pineapple and a lot of cheese but grilled vegetable is very close. Love your books and can’t wait for my copy of pizza and flatbread to get here.
I love all sorts of vegetarian pizzas. Recently have been making kalamata olive/artichoke/red pepper/onion/mushroom/garlic with mozzarella and myzithra on whole wheat crust. Yummy!
Artichoke and Kalamata olives, red bell pepper, and onion, garlic. Add some feta, and it’s a greek pizza. Yummy.
addicted to anything with anchovies!
My very favorite pizza is a white pizza with lots of fresh garlic and cheese. I also love it with homemade pesto and sliced tomatoes fresh from the garden. Yum!
SUPER excited for this new book and chance to win! I love a flatbread pizza with fresh mozzarella, ground beef and provolone. YUM.
Oh, I swoon! Margherita is my favorite! But I will devour any pizza so long as it has fresh basil on it!
I love pizza topped with chicken, bacon and green peppers. I look forward to trying your dough recipe!
I love unique pizzas. I’ve had an amazing fresh arugula, pancetta and goat cheese pizza and it’s my favorite so far.
Congrats on the new book!
Our favorite pizza is flexible. It has to be homemade with homemade sauce, but the toppings vary by what we have on hand. We love using just the basic dough recipe from AB in 5 and the pizza turns out great!
I love a pesto pizza! That dough looks amazing.
We love pizza in all its variations, but especially with fresh basil.
Love your books. There’s always a new variation to try.
Thank you!!
Wow, all these great ideas for pizza! However, my two young adult sons live on traditional pepperoni pizzas. They won’t try anything new but I think it’s time to experiment with something new and different for hubby and I. Hope your new book has great success!
My favorite pizza is “runner’s pizza” that has marinara sauce, sausage, mozzarella, spinach, and feta cheese on a whole wheat crust!
Since first discovering your wonderful bread (and getting a copy of ABin5) I have learned so much from you both. As this applies to my pizza making, I have learned that less is more and a few good/fresh ingredients make for a flavor packed outcome! This bread making adventure has many thankful followers of which I am one:-D
Simple Neapolitan-style pizza with only a couple of quality toppings is best. So many combinations to choose from, but one of my all time favorites is gunaciale and an egg broken right in the middle of the pie and baked with it. The white sets and the yolk gets perfectly “jiggly”. You take a slice and dip it in the oozing yolk…heaven.
I love all kinds of pizza but thin crust neopolitan style is my fav!
I love pizza – could eat it everyday : ) Pizza Margherita is one of my favorites, but I think my very favorite is a hand-tossed crust with homemade mornay sauce, carmelized onions, spinach, ricotta (homemade), and mozzerrella cheese.
arugula and prosciutto!
I love pizza made with homemade pesto, fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes right from the garden on your olive oil dough cooked on my grill. Love all your books can’t wait to win this one! I have given many of your books as presents, I love that you have taught that homemade bread is easy!
I love pretty much all pizza, although Pizza Margheria is pretty much the perfect food.
Favorite pizza is ham and pineapple.
No olive oil in the dough?
Debbie: Some of our doughs in the book have olive oil; for this one, we stuck with Italian tradition (and, believe it or not, law), and kept the oil as a topping, not as a dough ingredient. Check out the book for all the variations. Jeff
Thin crust, lots of fresh veggies, pepperoni & CHEESE. So delicious!
In this Olive oil dough, I didnt see any Olive Oil…..how much to use for the dough?
Nia: Olive oil variations are in the book– we didn’t publish it here… Jeff
My favorite pizza is not all that exciting…just plain cheese (fresh mozzarella), but it has to be thin and crispy!
Can’t wait to try your olive oil dough…looks super easy like your wonderful bread 🙂
OH MY GOSH I am so excited about this book! My favorite pizza is just good ol’ fresh mushrooms. Yum! Although when I make it for my husband & I, mushrooms go on the whole thing, then pepperoni & jalepenos on his side 🙂
I love your books – I have made almost every recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day – outstanding stuff. Thanks so much for making this so easy!
I don’t know that I have a favorite pizza. I will say that I tend toward veggie and odd (no pepperoni for me)
I’ve been making pizza for months just using the basic master recipe. I love to use ranch dressing for a sauce, a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar for the cheese, and bacon, onions, and cubed chicken on top. So tasty.
Grilled Margherita pizza is my absolute favorite. So yummy!