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Pizza Margherita Redux

pmsundaysmall

Last night saw another pizza Margherita from my kitchen. On a quest to improve what’s already a good pizza, I keep trying different flours, kneading times, cook times, and the like. Yesterday’s attempt involved a change of ovens.

For quite some time now, I’ve been relying on my Breville Smart Oven for baking pizza. It does a very good job, especially with the help of a pizza stone. But the more I read on the subject, I’m finding that cooking temperature plays a key role. Every pizza enthusiast dreams of having a wood-burning oven that can reach an ideal temperature between 700°F to 750°F; but for most of us having one will more than likely only remain a dream.

Before baking
Before baking

So last night, following my favorite pizza recipe from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Italian Country Table, I used the lowest shelf of my oven with a pizza stone and baked the pizza at 500°F. The higher temp made a difference not only in the cooking time, but in the texture of the dough. The cooking time was reduced by 5 minutes and the dough definitely had more chew.

What I’m looking for now is more height to the pizza, those “bubbles” in the crust that you get from cooking in a wood-burning oven. If any of you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Here’s a link to the Pizza Recipe.

Wine Pairing: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

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Pizza Margherita

blogpizzasmallYesterday, I had an early evening engagement and wouldn’t be home in time to cook for dinner. So I thought: pizza. It’s really easy to make at home, even in a small NYC kitchen and, in my opinion, is far better and maybe even quicker than delivery.

Just before noon, I made the pizza dough following one of the best recipes I know. It’s from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Italian Country Table. It makes a thin crust that perfectly balances crispy and chewy. The dough can rest covered for about 8 hours if you want to make it ahead of time like I did.

I sauce my pizza with a raw sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of oregano, some crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and cook the pizza for about 10 minutes before adding the cheeses and basil. I then top the pizza with some grated Romano, torn pieces of fresh Mozzarella, a few ripped fresh basil leaves, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cook for about another 7 minutes or until the crust is brown and the cheese melts.blogprepizzasmall

Here’s a link to Lynne’s recipe online: Classic Pizza Margherita. It includes the dough recipe as well as one for the sauce.

Wine Pairing: Chianti, chilled Lambrusco, Zinfandel