Homemade Pizza - Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil - The challenge

Fellow Foodies.

Who doesn't love pizza?  Having grown up in Chicago we have such great Pizza places and so many varieties to choose from.  This past summer my wife asked me to make her a special type of Pizza with Tomato and Fresh Basil.  The challenge for me was making the dough from scratch.  One of my buddies, who is from New York helped me with this by providing me with a gift of 10# of special pizza flour. So, it was time to attempt this new challenge.

Pizza Dough Recipe.

Dough ball

3 cups of bread flour
2 Tsp of Yeast (Fast Acting)
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Cup of Warm Water
3/4 Tsp Salt


In a bowl, combine the flour and salt and mix together.  Using a pyrex measuring cup, fill with 1 cup of warm water (110 degrees), add the yeast and wait for about 10 minutes for it to activate.

Once you see the yeast foaming, add to the dry ingredients along with the Tbs of Olive Oil and begin working it with your hands.  You must keep folding it.  I then transfer the mixture to a cutting board that I have dusted with flour and continue folding the mixture into itself.  Depending on the day, you may need to add a bit more water to help with the density of the flour.  The dough mixture needs to look like its come together as you form a ball.  See picture above.  Once the dough has been folded together, put back into a bowl cover with a towel, and let it alone for about 30 minutes.  If the yeast has worked, you should see that the dough ball has risen.

Dough Fitted to Pizza Pan

After the dough has risen, you will need to rework the dough.  In this recipe I cut the dough in half, as this recipe will make 2 pizza shells.  Take half of the dough and form into a ball.  Use flour on the cutting board so that you are able to roll the dough out.  If you want a thin crust you will need to work the dough with  a rolling pin until you get both the size and the thickness that you desire.  This is one of those tasks that you learn as you go.  Once I have the pizza dough rolled out, I use a pizza pan as my guide to finish sizing the dough.

Finished Dough ready for toppings

One other suggestion that you may want to do, is to use a fork to puncture the dough after fitting in the pan. The purpose is to even out the cooking of the crust.  When that is finished I use Olive Oil to paint the dough,  See picture on the right.  I also use corn meal to sprinkle on the bottom of the pizza pan.  This helps the bottom cook evenly and crisp.

Tomatoes added to the dough

For this type of Pizza I use Del Monte Italian Stewed Tomatoes - these are already marinated with Basil, Garlic and Oregano.  I drain the liquid and then slice the pieces so that I have even slices.  I lay out the tomatoes across the dough shell evenly to cover the entire surface.

Finished Pizza with Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil

OK, now to finish the Pizza, I use Fresh Mozzarella, not the packaged type. You may use that if you are not able to find Fresh.  Fresh has a wonderful taste and consistency.  I slice the Mozzarella in thin slices and then add to the pizza covering most of the tomatoes.  I add fresh basil over the Mozzarella.  By using "fresh basil" the flavor pops. 

Pizza in the oven

Finished Pizza - Ready to Serve (Yum)

I cook the pizza using a pizza stone at 475 degrees for about 15 - 18 minutes in a preheated oven.









The finished Pizza has an incredible aroma.  Slice quickly and serve.  This is a Pizza you will want to make again and again.  This also makes a great party dish.

Great Eating!!
Memphis Food Guy

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