DO YOU LIKE "PIZZA MARGHERITA"?

PIZZA MARGHERITA: A FEW WORDS

Which is the most common italian word that you have in mind when you think at the italian food? I guess this is a really stupid question since the answer is pretty easy: PIZZA!

This wonderful “item” started to be known in our country in the X century, and then all around Italy (in Naples a bread with a very strange shape was called “pitta”, and then with the addition of tomatoes and mozzarella the “tt” was changed in “zz”, then “pizza”).

The original version of it, simple but tasty, is made as in the past: four, water and salt for the base, and later an addition of tomatoes with oil, cheese (mostly mozzarella) and origano.

Travelling around Europe I’ve seen that a few version include “pepperoni” on it (a sort of salami), but the italian style does not include it! Just to say…..

WHAT DO YOU NEED (4 people)?

In order to prepare a perfect pizza at home, first of all you need to have a standard oven that can easily reach 220c° (when you eat in restaurant usually this is cooked in a wooden oven that can reach a 300c° temperature, this is not easily replicable at home). Please note that for this recipe you cannot use a microwave oven (and, in general, you will never find microwaves tips and tricks on this blog).

Are you ready? Let’s go:

Flour – Type “0” (tender)...................1 Kg

Water (normal) ................... 600 gr

Brewer's yeast  ................... 7/10 gr

Olive Oil (quality “EVO”) ................... around 60 gr

Salt................... up to 20 gr

Tomato’s sauce ................... 600 gr

Mozzarella ................... 400 gr

Origan ................... a bit

HOW TO PREPARE

In a basin put all the flour and create a hole in the middle, then put inside the yeast. This part is very important since the volume that the  dough will reach will depend by the quality and the quantity of it, then try to be as much aligned as possible with the previous suggested weight.

Then add a bit of water (not all the quantity suggested, you’ll need the rest later) and start to knead all, mixing together with hands (or with a machine if you have) for at least 10 minutes. During this time the yeast’s property will start to be active and will perfectly combine with the flour.

Continue this procedure adding more and more water slowly; if you will see that, at some stage, the dough will be sticky feel free to add a bit of flour (otherwise the opposite, if the dough is too hard the add a bit more water), until you will reach an homogeneous base (give it the round shape).

As last part add the olive oil and complete this part, after another 2 minutes with your hands, covering the dough’s ball with a kitchen film, then leave it in the oven, that is OFF with only the light ON: the light power will contribute to keep a good temperature during this  the leavening phase, that will last between 2 and 3 hours.

After this period it’s better to spend another 5/10 minutes manipulating the dough and then covering it again and wait another 60 minutes: this is not mandatory but will contribute to have a really soft base for your pizza.

In the meantime prepare the tomato’s sauce mixing it with a big of olive oil, salt and origan: this is the perfect way to create the right taste on the dough before adding all the other elements. A nice leave of “basilico” somewhere on the mozzarella will let your pizza be more fragrant.

When the dought is ready (as previously described) put it into a baking tin (previously covered by oil, you can do this putting a bit olive oil inside and then spreading with your fingers) and add the tomato’s mixed sauce. Add the cheese (please, Mozzarella is da way!) and then spray a bit of origan over it: that’s all.

 Now you can decide your own what to add on it, but also leaving it as it is will be perfect (in Italy we call this version “Pizza Margherita”).

When your fantastic pizza is ready to be cooked, firstly you need to wait until your oven has reached a good temperature, at least 200c°: when ready, cook it for 18 minutes checking the colour of the mozzarella (when becomes colorful it means it’s ready).

If this is not your favourite one, then here you can find other varieties of this wonderful food!

Welcome in Italy!