Pizza Margherita Roberta's

By Marylee

Here is the archetype of a thin-crust pizza pie, adorned simply in the colors of the Italian flag: green from basil, white from mozzarella, red from tomato sauce. This pizza is adapted from the recipe used by the staff at Roberta’s restaurant in Brooklyn, who make their tomato sauce simply by whizzing together canned tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. The ingredients offer in their proportions what appears to be a kind of austerity — not even 3 ounces of cheese! But the result is home-cooked pizza to beat the band, exactly the sort of recipe to start a career in home pizza-making, and to return to again and again.

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 12-inch round of pizza dough, stretched (see recipe)
• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce (see note)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 3/4 ounces fresh mozzarella
• 4 to 5 basil leaves, roughly torn
• Roberta’s Pizza Dough
• 153 grams 00 flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
• 153 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons)
• 8 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
• 2 grams active dry yeast (3/4 teaspoon)
• 4 grams extra-virgin olive oil (1 teaspoon)

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from nytimes.com

Preparation

Step 1

PREPARATION

1.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.
2.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together 200 grams (about 1 cup) lukewarm tap water, the yeast and the olive oil, then pour it into flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, approximately 3 minutes, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
3.
Knead rested dough for 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a heavily floured surface, cover with dampened cloth, and let rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for pizza.)
4.
To make pizza, place each dough ball on a heavily floured surface and use your fingers to stretch it, then your hands to shape it into rounds or squares. Top and bake.
YIELD 2 12-inch pizzas
NOTEMeasurements for dry ingredients are given by weight for greater accuracy. The equivalent measurements by volume are approximate.
Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.
2.
Put the sauce in the center of the stretched dough and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly across the surface, stopping approximately 1/2 inch from the edges.
3.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the pie. Break the cheese into large pieces and place these gently on the sauce. Scatter basil leaves over the top.
4.
Using a pizza peel, pick up the pie and slide it onto the heated stone or tiles in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, approximately 4 to 8 minutes.
YIELD 2 servings
NOTEIn a food processor, whiz together whole, drained canned tomatoes, a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Keep leftover sauce refrigerated.