Being in a committed relationship or marriage comes with many benefits. One of the greatest is the merging of two families including perspectives, differences and most importantly family recipes!
One that I was coveting for a while was the pizza my husband’s mother made often when we came to visit. It was thick crust, cheesy, full of fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. Homemade pizza at a party is always a hit and we never have any leftovers.
This recipe proved simple enough to create again and again…and the trick to having easily spreadable dough, is to let it rise once and refrigerated overnight before second rise occurs.
So yeah, simple and make ahead! What more could you want when doing a party? Mind you the Kitchen Aid Mixer helps make it simpler, my Italian mother-in-law really does it all the way by kneading by hand.
What is handy to have on hand:
Kitchen Aid Mixer (w/ paddle and kneading attachments)
Large non-stick cookie sheet (with 1” rim)
Cheese Grater
Pizza Alla Napoletana (as per The Italian Baker by Carol Field)
Dough:
Makes 15 to 16” pizza, 2 medium-size, or 5 to 6 individual
1 ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet) or 2/3 small cake (12 grams) fresh yeast
Pinch of Sugar
1 ½ cups of warm water
¼ cup olive oil, plus additional for brushing crust
3 ¾ cups (500 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons (8 grams) salt (if using anchovies on pizza toppings, reduce to a pinch)
By Hand:
Stir yeast and sugar into the water in large mixing bowl; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oil. Mix the flour and salt and stir, 1 cup at a time, into the yeast mixture, beating well to get all the lumps out. Knead on the lightly floured surface until soft and satiny but firm, about 8 minutes.
By Mixer:
Stir the yeast and sugar into the water in a mixer bowl; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oil with the paddle. Mix the flour and salt and add to the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough comes together. Change to the dough hook and knead at the medium speed until soft and satiny but firm, about 3 minutes. Finish kneading briefly by hand on a lightly floured surface.
First Rise:
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly w/ plastic wrap and let rise until not quite fully doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
(Once raised, place in refrigerator overnight)
Shaping and second rise:
Shape w/ rolling pin or your hands. Knead the dough briefly on a lightly floured surface to expel the air bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the dough if you are making more than one pizza. With rolling pin, roll out the dough ¼ to 1/8 inch thick, leaving a 1” rim. Place the dough in an oiled pizza pan or on a peel that has been sprinkled w/ cornmeal. To shape by hand, push the dough out from the center on a lightly floured surface, working around the circle and pushing to within an inch of the edge. When the dough is a bit more than ½ inch thick, place it over your fists and start moving them gently away from each other, stretching the dough between them. Finish shaping until the dough is spread across the pan; finish shaping with your fingers until it holds its shape. Cover dough with towel and let rise for no longer than 30 minutes.
Topping:
1 small can (8 oz.) of tomato sauce
10 – 15 leaves of fresh sweet basil
Fresh tomatoes, sliced thin
½ – ¾ lb. of fresh grated Parmigianino cheese
1 lb. freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
Pit less Kalamata olives sliced thin *or what ever topping(s) you prefer
Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the dough in the pan. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the sauce until covered. Next, add the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly all over. Now add fresh slices of tomato and several large leaves of sweet basil. Lightly brush the tomato with a good olive oil and sprinkle lightly with fresh black pepper. Sprinkle with olives over all the pizza or whatever other topping you may prefer such as precooked sausage, green peppers, etc.
Bake in preheated 400 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes for large pizza or 15 to 25 minutes for smaller ones. Once finished, immediately brush the crust with oil.
