Kitchenaid Pizza Margherita

mammafishy's Note:

I just recently bought a KitchenAid stand mixer and a Bialetti pizza baking stone. This recipe is a combination of the Crusty Pizza Dough in the KitchenAid manual and the Pizza Margherita recipe that came with my stone. (If you don't have a pizza stone you can use an inverted baking sheet.) Don't let the simplicity of the pizza sauce fool you....very tasty!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 1.0 pizza

Pizza Dough

• 2 1/4 teaspoons bulk yeast (or 1 package active dry yeast)
• 1 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 1/2-3 1/2 cups flour (I use bread flour)
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal

Margherita Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/8-inch thick
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• semolina or cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warm mixer bowl.
2. Add salt, olive oil and 2 1/2 cups flour.
3. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.
4. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough, when touched, doesn't leave anything on your hand and dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Knead on speed 2, about 2 minutes longer.
5. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from drafts, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down.
6. Prepare pizza stone (or baking sheet) by placing on the lowest rack of a cold oven; preheat for 30 minutes at 500 degrees or the highest setting.
7. When dough is ready, place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a disk. Use a rolling pin or your hands to roll or stretch the dough into a circle that is 1/4" thick and 10" to 12" in diameter. Transfer to a peel (or inverted baking sheet), that has been dusted with semolina or cornmeal.
8. Brush dough with a little of the olive oil to the edge. Spread tomato sauce over the dough to within 1/2" of the edge. Distribute mozzarella slices over the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Arrange basil leaves over the mozzarella, reserving a few for garnish if desired. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with remaining oil.
9. Lightly sprinkle the hot stone (or baking sheet) with a dusting of cornmeal (or semolina).
10. Carefully slide the pizza onto the stone and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the bottom is crisp and browned and the top is bubbling. Garnish with reserved basil leaves, if desired.
11. Note: Preparation and cooking times are combined, for approximately 90 minutes total.

Reviews

[Lucky in Bayview]

FANTASTIC pizza! We really loved this. DH exclaimed this is his new favorite pizza. I must admit I was very skeptical about using plain tomato sauce, but it was great. Next time I won't add any salt, the parmesean cheese added enough saltiness for us. What a simple, great recipe.Can't wait to make this again. Thanks so much for posting.