Pizza Margherita with Prosciutto
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes, if you make the crust from scratch,
35 minutes if you buy the crust
This is not a typical American pizza. It has fresh, garden-ripe tomatoes rather than sauce and fresh mozzarella rather than packaged, shredded. The crust is easy to make, especially if you have a stand-mixer with a dough hook. If you don't make it from scratch buy a good pizza crust at the store.
Ingredients:
- Pizza Crust:
- 2/3 cup warm water, 105 - 115F, hotter will kill the yeast
- 1 pkg (2 tsp) active dry yeast fast acting if you can get it
- 1/2 tsp sugar you need this to 'feed' the yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt you need this to 'control' the yeast
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 cups flour
- Pizza Topping:
- 1 onion
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 - 5 tomatoes
- 4 - 5 slices (3oz, 100gr) Prosciutto or other dry cured ham
- large handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1 ball fresh Mozzarella
- 1/3 cup green or black olives
Instructions:
- Yeast:
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let sit a few minutes to 'proof' - start to look foamy to prove that the yeast is still alive.
- Dough:
- If you have a mixer with a dough hook put the yeast and all remaining ingredients in mixer bowl.
- Blend with dough hook attachment until well mixed then kneed for an additional 3 minutes.
- Put in a warm place to rise.
- If making by hand put yeast in large bowl along with all of the rest of the ingredients minus 1/2 cup flour.
- Stir to combine.
- Put remaining flour on work surface, add dough and kneed until smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes. As remaining flour is incorporated dough will become less sticky.
- Put in warm place to rise.
- After dough has doubled in size, about 30 minutes, punch down.
- Lightly butter a pizza pan or large baking sheet.
- Roll dough out with a rolling pin as best you can.
- Then put on pan and stretch it to fit, patting it out with your fingers. If it keeps springing back wait a few minutes - or accept that your pizza will be slightly smaller than anticipated. Try not to put any holes in the crust. You are now ready to assemble the pizza.
- Topping:
- Finely chop onions and garlic and sauté in olive oil until tender.
- Add oregano and mix well.
- Slice tomatoes as thinly as you can - you should get 5 - 8 slices from each one, depending on how big they are.
- Cut ham into 1 inch strips.
- Tear large basil leaves.
- Slice mozzarella as thinly as you can, then tear into large chunks.
- Cut olives in half.
- To assemble pizza:
- On just-finished crust or your purchased crust: Spread onion/garlic mixture evenly over crust.
- Lay thinly sliced tomatoes evenly over crust - they should be touching and cover the entire crust.
- Bake at 450F (225C) for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and add ham, half the basil leaves and cheese.
- Return to oven and bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese bubbling.
- Remove from oven, add remaining basil leaves, slice and serve.