Chris’s Pizza Margherita recipe

Credit: Carol Pope

Simplicity is the secret of the spectacular Pizza Margherita made by Chris.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. sugar
• 8 cups flour (sometimes some whole wheat mixed with unbleached white, sometimes all unbleached white)
• 8 tsp. quick-rise yeast

First, he puts on a very large batch of dough early in the afternoon, enough to make five or six pizzas. (He usually makes three or four, as the leftovers make great takeout lunches!) A few hours later after the dough has risen, Chris turns on the oven to 450°F to warm up the stone and then gets to work rolling out the dough, one thin pizza crust at a time.

For Pizza Margherita, he simply adds slices of ripe tomato, lots of basil leaves and finally a sprinkling of mozzarella, keeping the cheese quite light.

Once each pizza has been baked to perfection – and moved around the oven as necessary to ensure a crispy crust and perfectly cooked toppings – he pulls it out and tops it with a good splash of organic virgin olive oil. (The oil is healthier and tastier uncooked, he explains.)

Lastly, the pizza is sliced and devoured instantly with much appreciation and many compliments from his family.