Friday, November 2, 2012

Margherita Pizza

After making the pasta sauce, I got a little bored of just eating it with spaghetti, so I decided to try to make my first margherita pizza.  The margherita pizza at Cosi is kind of my go-to lunch in the American Airlines terminal at Boston Logan because I love the crispy but chewy flatbread crust, the sweet tomato sauce, fresh basil, and especially the fresh mozzarella.

For this pizza, I used the same thin crust pizza dough recipe from The Kitchn that I used for the crispy kale pizza and the chicken masala pizza and just a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce.  You may be tempted to add more, but don't.  Too much sauce on the dough will leave it uncooked, and you won't get the nice crispy crust.

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Margherita Pizza (adapted from The Kitchn)
makes one 10" pizza

1/2 lb. pizza dough
2-3 tablespoons tomato sauce
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 tablespoons loosely packed fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

Heat the oven to 550°F or as hot as it can go. Place a baking stone or baking sheet in the oven as it heats.

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Shape dough into a 10" circle on a piece of parchment paper.

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Spread a light layer of the sauce over the dough.

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Top with the slices of mozzarella. Leave some space between the pieces of mozzarella.

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Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper to the preheated baking stone or baking sheet (I used a flexible cutting board to do this). Bake for 5-10 minutes—exact cooking time will vary depending on your oven temperature. Pizzas are finished when the crust is deep brown with charred spots and the cheese is bubbling.

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Sprinkle pizza with basil as it comes out of the oven. Let cool briefly before slicing and serving.

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I wasn't able to the crust as browned as I wanted, but that's probably because I was reading the original pizza dough recipe that called for the oven to be set for 500°F instead of 550°F.  Next time I'll definitely crank up the heat as high as it can go, and I might try a fresh (vs. cooked) tomato sauce.

Updated:  I've made this pizza with Ken Forkish's Same Day Straight Pizza Dough.  That dough is so much better!


Next:  Cereal Milk
Previously:  The Famous Butter Tomato Sauce

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