Pizza, the Italian flatbread, has come a long way over the years. Once considered a secret among chefs, pizza is now popular in almost every kitchen throughout the world. Even better, it no longer requires the trained hands of a chef to prepare.

For those that prefer to go out and have their pizza made for them by professionals, this recipe should get them into the spirit of perfecting this darling in their own kitchens. It comes complete with a simple dough formula and an even simpler sauce with topping formula. It should also win over pizza enthusiasts who usually keep an eye out for any refinements to the formula.

A simple pizza recipe

Dough ingredients:

  • Three fourths cup warm water
  • One tsp active dry yeast
  • One tsp sugar
  • Two tbs olive oil
  • Two cups all-purpose flour
  • One half tsp salt
  • Olive oil as needed

Sauce ingredients:

  • One can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes
  • One garlic clove
  • Two tbsp olive oil
  • One tsp oregano
  • One fourth tsp basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Topping ingredients:

  • One half cup mozzarella
  • One fourth cup rosemary, fresh

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl and stir in the yeast. Let sit for five minutes.
  2. Pour the flour, sugar, and salt into another bowl and combine with a whisk or use a food processor. Stir in the wet mixture and oil until dough starts to form.
  3. Knead the dough on a flour-dusted surface with hands for five minutes or use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead until the dough is soft, lightly sticky, and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
  4. Return the dough to the bowl and brush all over with more olive oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let it proof in a warm place for an hour. The dough needs to double in size during proofing.
  5. Punch down the dough and return to a flour-dusted surface. Start from the center of the dough and stretch it outward, rotating for each corner. Fold the dough and unfold with a stretch for each corner. Continue until it forms a large pizza-sized disc.
  6. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blend and puree until it reaches the right consistency.
  7. Transfer half of the sauce to the surface of the pizza and brush it across the surface evenly. Do the same with more of the sauce if needed. Cut the mozzarella into small chunks and top the pizza all over.
  8. Bake the pizza for 12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Serve garnished with rosemary.
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