Margherita Pizza--LOVE IT!!

No Matter how you shape this pizza it is AWESOME! This is Jack and mine new favorite. I pulled a portion of the Basic Pizza Dough out of the freezer one afternoon and thought I would give this recipe a try. It was so incredible and simple! Jack thought it tasted so good that he asked me everyday when we were having pizza again. I luckily had just planted a large Basil plant in my kitchen window so I didn't have to run to the store.

"The story of Margherita pizza is a colorful one. In 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples. In her honor, a bread maker dressed up his flatbread to reveal the Italian colors--red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil. Suffice it to say, it was a big hit and the rest is history.

Shape

1 portion of Basic Pizza Dough

Assemble Pizza with:

3/4 cup Roma tomatoes coarsely chopped or sliced 1/4" thick

  (I use the big slicing tomatoes that I always have on hand for sandwiches and it worked great too.)

3-4 oz Mozzarella,  thinly sliced (I personally just used shredded Mozzarella)

Sea salt or Kosher salt to taste (Jack prefers the Kosher salt)

Extra-Virgin olive oil

Bake; Brush with:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Finish with:

8 Fresh Basil leaves whole of chiffonade (thin strips) Chiffonade is our recommendation

Preheat oven and stone to 500

Shape dough, pressing and stretching into a 10-12" round (or rolling with a rolling pin into a thinner 12-14" round.) Lift dough onto a peel that's been dusted with cornmeal or flour (we found cornmeal works best).

Assemble pizza with tomatoes, leaving a 1" margin around the edge; top tomatoes with cheese and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle olive oil in s spiral motion from the center of the pizza to the outer edge. (I personally brush the oil on the dough before I put the toppings and call it good.)

Bake assembled pizza on preheated stone 5-8 minutes, or until the edges and cheese are golden brown. Slide peel under pizza to remove. Brush crust edges with oil (I have never done this).

Finish with fresh basil, slide pizza onto a cutting board, slice, and serve