Margherita Pizza Wrap Recipes

MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put a jelly roll pan or a half sheet pan in the oven.
• Begin by making the tomato sauce. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the minced garlic, thyme and oregano. Cook until just fragrant then add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Lower the heat and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavor. Shut off the heat and set aside.
• Take the preheated jelly roll pan out of the oven and drizzle some olive oil over the entire surface. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and reserve 1 piece for another use. Stretch the pizza dough out so it is just bigger than the pan, then lay it inside the pan, so the dough comes up the sides to form a crust on the rim. Smear with tomato sauce then tear up the mozzarella and scatter it evenly over the top of the pie. Tear the basil leaves, spread them over the top and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Give it a final season with salt and pepper, to taste, then bake in the hot oven until golden and bubbly, about 15 to 18 minutes
• In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.
• If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.
• If you're making the dough by hand, add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then begin stirring in the flour. When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that the dough is soft but not too sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven, cut into slices and serve. .

THE MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• For the dough: Add flour, yeast and 4.05 ounces water to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on lowest speed for 2 minutes. Add salt and mix for another 2 minutes. Add olive oil and mix for another 11 minutes.
• Cover with plastic in a bowl greased with olive oil and put in refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Form dough into a tight even ball. Place on a tray or plate and cover with plastic wrap. Return to refrigerator for 8 hours.
• Bring dough to room temperature for 4 hours, still covered. Return to the fridge again for another 8 hours or up to overnight. Bring to room temperature for 2 hours. The dough is now ready to use. (It should be soft to the touch and give easily.)
• For the pizza: Preheat oven to 550 degrees F.
• Stretch and toss dough to appropriate size (approximately 18 inches in diameter), making sure to keep dough even on the bottom (avoid spots that are too thin) and place on a baking stone.
• Distribute the oil in a spiral. Evenly disperse garlic on top. Shake on Romano cheese evenly. Distribute provolone evenly. Squeeze water out of tomatoes, then distribute on pizza. Place fresh mozzarella on pizza. Lightly salt with table salt.
• Bake directly on stone, rotating occasionally throughout cooking process, about 12 minutes total.
• Sprinkle pizza lightly with kosher salt.
• Cut into 8 slices and garnish with fresh basil.

SIMPLE PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pour water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar and yeast; stir until yeast has dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add oil, flours, and salt. Fit mixer with paddle attachment; mix until combined. Switch to dough hook; mix 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times with floured hands until smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl, and turn to coat; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in the refrigerator overnight.)
• Make the sauce: Pulse tomatoes in a blender until smooth; set aside. Put garlic and oil into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until garlic sizzles, about 40 seconds. Add shallots; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. (Sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.)
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Preheat a baking sheet. Punch down dough; transfer to a floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Set half aside, and cover with plastic wrap. Roll out remaining dough to 14 by 7 inches, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle a pizza peel with semolina flour, and place rolled dough on top.
• Brush top of dough lightly with oil. Spread with 1/2 cup sauce, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with half the mozzarella. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan, and season with pepper.
• Slide pizza onto heated sheet in oven. Bake until dough is golden and cheese is bubbling, 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat process with remaining dough. Let each pizza cool slightly; top with half the basil. Cut into slices, and serve.

MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Begin by making the dough. Dissolve the brewer's yeast in 1 1/2 cups room-temperature water and add half the flour; mix quickly, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then add the rest of the flour and knead the dough vigorously for at least 10 minutes, then add the salt and mix again. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it rest, refrigerated, for 24 hours.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours. Next, stretch the dough out using your fingertips to extend it in a 13"x15" pan (or form two rounds about 10" in diameter), cover and let rest for another 30 minutes before adding toppings and baking.
• Preheat the oven to 465°F.
• Using your hands or the tines of a fork, break up the peeled tomatoes; salt them lightly. Top the 2 pizzas with the tomatoes and bake them with the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven for the first 5 minutes, then move them to the middle rack and continue baking for another 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and add bits of buffalo mozzarella and shredded basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

AUTHENTIC PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Stir flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Set aside.
• Mix water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Stir half the flour mixture into yeast mixture until no dry spots remain. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When dough pulls together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide into 4 equal pieces, and form each into a ball.
• Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stretch out and pat 1 dough ball to form a circle 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Place dough on a lightly floured pizza peel. Top with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and spread to cover within an inch of the edge of the dough. Arrange 5 slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the tomato sauce, then place 5 basil leaves on top. Drizzle pizza with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Repeat for 3 remaining dough balls.
• Slide each pizza onto the pizza stone in the preheated oven. Bake until cheese is bubbly and the underside of the crust is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

MARGHERITA FLATBREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Chop 1/2 of the basil leaves.
• Place a large saucepan over medium heat to warm. Put plum tomatoes in the pan and chop them up with a spatula. Bring to a simmer and add garlic, thyme sprigs, and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until most of the moisture is gone, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs.
• Place flatbread on a baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Spread olive oil lightly over entire flatbread except the edge, then sprinkle with crushed red pepper. Spread tomato sauce on top of olive oil and place mozzarella on top. Layer with remaining whole basil leaves and tomato slices.
• Return to the oven and cook until crust is light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly oil two 14-inch pizza pans; set aside.
• Divide dough in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap while working with the other. Working on a lightly floured surface, use fingers to flatten and stretch half the dough into a rough 8-inch circle. Transfer to one of the prepared pans or onto a pizza peel. Continue pressing dough outward until it just fits inside rim of pan or reaches almost to the edge of the stone. Dough should be less than 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Spread 1/2 cup tomatoes on each pizza in a thin, even layer. Sprinkle each round with half the mozzarella. Transfer to oven, and bake until golden and crusty, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with basil. Drizzle with oil, season with salt to taste, and serve immediately.

MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of the warm water and the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of warm water, the 4 cups of flour and the kosher salt and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and knead, adding flour as necessary until a silky, but soft dough forms. Use a pastry scraper to help knead the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and brush all over with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface; punch down and divide into 4 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Rub each ball with oil and transfer to a baking sheet. Cover the balls loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, set a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°, allowing at least 20 minutes for the stone to heat. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill set over a medium bowl or pulse them in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Stir in the oregano and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
• On a lightly floured surface, stretch one ball of dough into a 13-inch round; transfer to a floured pizza peel, adding flour where the dough sticks. Spread 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce over the dough to within 1 inch of the edge. Spread one-fourth of the cheese over the pizza and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Season with sea salt and pepper and slide the pizza onto the stone. Bake until the bottom is charred and the cheese is melted, about 8 minutes. Scatter one-fourth of the basil on top and let stand for 3 minutes before serving. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.

MARGHERITA PIZZA WRAP

Steps:

• Prepare couscous according to package directions, using 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cool. In a medium bowl combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, beans, tomatoes, green onion, garlic and Italian seasoning. Blend well.
• Add cooked couscous; toss gently with fork to mix. Warm the tortillas*. Spread 2/3 cup of the bean-tomato-couscous mixture on the bottom half of each tortilla, leaving room on the edges. Sprinkle with cheese. Layer with basil leaves. Fold the side and bottom edges of each tortilla toward the middle over the filling, then roll so the tortilla covers the filling.
• * To make them more pliable before wrapping, warm tortillas: - Microwave oven: 10 to 15 seconds on high heat - Oven: 3 to 5 minutes at 350ºF in aluminum foil - Stovetop: 15 seconds per side over medium-high heat in a large, non-stick skillet.