You can use a variety of toppings on this pizza crust. Don’t worry about shaping your pizza dough into a perfect round. A pizza stone is ideal for baking he pizza but if you don’t have one, you can bake the pizzas on a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet. You can get buffalo mozzarella at specialty food shops and Italian grocery stores. Yield is 4 servings.
ingredients
Dough
Sauce
Toppings
directions
In a small bowl, bloom the yeast in the 1/3 cup lukewarm water until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Mix dry ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
While mixer is running on low speed add the yeast mixture, the oil, and enough of the remaining 1 1/3 cups water to make the dough come together.
Knead on low speed for about 12 minutes until the dough is firm, smooth and elastic.
Remove dough from the bowl.
Divide dough into 4 and shape each piece into a ball.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Set dough balls onto baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth.
Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat.
Add the garlic and saute 2 minutes or until softened.
Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer for 15 minutes.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Stir in the basil.
Set sauce aside.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven when oven begins to preheat.
Using your hands, stretch and pull one dough ball into a 12-inch round.
Sprinkle some cornmeal onto a pizza paddle (if you don’t have a paddle, you can sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet).
Place the pizza dough onto the paddle or baking sheet.
Spoon over tomato sauce and add toppings.
Transfer the pizza to the stone and bake for about 8 minutes or until topping is bubbly.
Repeat with other balls of dough.