Ingredients:

​

For the dough:

• 3 1/2 cups flour

• 1 cup warm water

• 1 packet dry yeast, 0.25 ounce

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 teaspoons salt

For the sauce:

• 1 cup Pomi' strained tomatoes (in the carton, imported from Italy- May substitute with drained San Marzano peeled tomatoes, blended into purée)

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 3 for sauce plus 1 to drizzle

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup grated cheese, 50/50 mix of Parmigiano and Romano

• pinch of oregano

• black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Start by making the pizza dough....

2. Sprinkle yeast over one cup of warm water. Add one teaspoon of sugar and stir.

3. Meanwhile, measure 1/2 of the flour and place in a large bowl. When the surface of the water/yeast mixture looks foamy, add it to the flour. Mix well with your hands. Add the remaining flour, incorporating it gradually until fully absorbed. If your dough is too wet, add a little more flour. If it is too dry, add a bit more warm water.

4. Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand at least 15 minutes, making sure to frequently fold dough over (as if you were folding laundry). This is a trick my Neapolitan grandmother taught me. It is important for achieving an airy crust so famous in Naples, Italy, the birthplace of pizza.

5. When the dough looks smooth and elastic, shape it into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic film first and a clean kitchen towel over that. Place in a warm and draft-free area to allow dough to rise. It should double in size in about 2 hours.

6. In a bowl, place strained tomatoes, 3 tbsp of the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano and a couple tbsp of grated cheese. The sauce should not be watery!

7. Mix well and set aside.

8. Grease a 9 1/2” by 13” cookie sheet with butter or shortening. Stretch the dough into an even rectangle, making sure to form a "lip" around the edge of the pizza.

9. Evenly distribute the sauce over the pizza crust until you have a nice, even layer but not too heavy. In fact, too much sauce will result in a soggy pizza.

10. Sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese evenly over pizza.

11. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

12. Bake in a preheated 400F oven for about 15-20 minutes or until bottom crust is golden and top is very lightly charred.

13. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

14. Cut pizza into even squares and serve warm.

TIPS:

As always, you can substitute store bought pizza dough for the homemade one. The dose in this recipe makes about 20 ounces of dough therefore, substitute accordingly.

Do not make your sauce watery. Drain any excess water from tomatoes before adding the other ingredients.

You may use extra grated cheese as topping if you desire.

You may also use extra olive oil to drizzle on top.

Please use the best quality ingredients for this recipe. Since it’s so simple, the quality of the tomatoes, grated cheese and olive oil is what it’s going to make it delicious.