About this recipe
Executive Chef James King of the recently-opened Che Vita Restaurant in Tampa, Florida, shares his recipe for Neapolitan Margherita pizza, a fresh, simple and delicious idea for weeknight dinner.
King said he likes Neapolitan pizza “because of the preservation of the traditions and authenticity. They keep it really simple, and the way that they treat the dough is different is that the fermentation allows it to be more digestible, so it’s better for your stomach and it’s just more light and airy. It’s amazing.”
Margherita pizza was invented in 1889 in honor of Queen Margherita of Savoy. Margherita pizza is made with tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala or fior di latte (King prefers mozzarella di bufala) and basil. The colors — red, white and green — represent those of the Italian flag.
Because the cheese has a lot of liquid, King recommends baking the pizza dough with the tomatoes for four minutes before adding the cheese and finishing it for three minutes.
When eating Neapolitan pizza, it’s traditional to use a fork and knife because the Caputo flour yields a very soft crust.
Ingredients
Yields: 6 servings
Pizza dough
Yields: 6 servings
Margherita pizza
Directions
Pizza dough
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Combine 360 grams warm water with 2 grams instant yeast or 4 grams fresh yeast in a large bowl and stir well to dissolve, then let rest for 5 minutes.
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Add 360 grams flour to the water and yeast mixture and mix well until a pancake batter-like substance forms.
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Wrap the bowl and poke three holes in the cover at the edges. Leave this mixture out at room temp for 12-16 hours or refrigerate for up to 24 hours, then remove from refrigerator 2 hours before next refresh step.
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After the poolish is developed from the instructions above, add 15 grams fine sea salt to 240 grams Caputo Tipo 00 and use your hand to mix in well and distribute throughout.
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Add the flour mixture to the poolish bowl, stirring a little at a time with a wooden spoon or a wet hand until all the flour is in and the dough comes together. This will take a few minutes of folding the dough.
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Drizzle on half of the oil and cover with plastic, allowing to rest for 10 minutes.
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Remove the wrap, and gently using a wet hand or a rubber spatula remove the dough to a clean smooth surface counter. Fold the dough into itself a few times until it becomes smooth, then transfer it back to the bowl and pour the remaining oil back over the dough. Wrap the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.
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Remove the dough after the hour and divide in half. Fold each dough into itself creating two smooth dough balls for two large pizza preparation. Place these dough balls on a lightly flour-dusted baking sheet pan or large platter, allowing them 2 inches of space between for the next step.
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Lightly flour dust and cover the dough balls with plastic wrap. Leave them at room temperature for 8-12 hours – the longer the better but not more than 12 hours. You can also transfer these dough balls into your refrigerator and leave for 24-72 hours to slowly ferment the flavors.
Margherita pizza
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Stretch the dough by flouring it lightly on a work surface, then create a rim on the perimeter of the dough. Place knuckles under the rim and allow the dough’s natural weight to stretch itself as you rotate the dough around and around until fully stretched into a round shape with a nice border at least 1 inch for the crust to develop.
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Pour the crushed tomatoes sauce onto the center of the pizza and spread out toward the rim but not onto the rim of the dough. Bake in a preheated 500-550 degree oven for four minutes.
TIP:
Always bake the pizza on either a pizza steel, preferred, or two pizza stones. These pizza cooking tools should always be preheated in your oven a minimum of 1 hour before the bake to get the closest result of a restaurant quality pizza. -
Tear quarter-sized pieces of mozzarella and distribute onto the pizza, leaving a 1-inch space between each spot to allow for the cheese to melt properly without too much water build up on the pizza. Return to oven for three minutes.
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Tear half the leaves of basil and spread out onto the pizza, then drizzle oil onto the pizza and onto the rim, if you prefer a crispier crust in your home oven. When the pizza is finished, garnish with the reserved basil.
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