Pizza Margherita

Who doesn’t love pizza? Everyone here does and this is our favorite kind of pizza. Its so easy to make that my children are able to make it by themselves, including the crust.

Pizza Margherita is a simple dish, easy to make, delicious to eat, beautiful to the eye. It relies on fresh ingredients:
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Fresh parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Fresh tomatoes
Fresh…

Its hard this time of year to find fresh ingredients, but if you have a good source for tomatoes and basil, I recommend that you try Pizza Margherita.  There are no measurement amounts for the toppings, just add how ever much you like!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

• 1 teaspoon sucanat
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

You may combine the flours and the water and soak over night if desired. Next morning, warm a little water and mix the yeast and sucanat in, then add to the flours. Add the rest of the ingredients and proceed as directed.

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. Melt the coconut oil. Stir the coconut oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the unbleached flour until dough starts to come together. Add the remaining flour and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Drape the dough over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward with your fists, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan.

5. Place the dough in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until the top of the crust is lightly golden in color and the crust is just firm to the touch. Don’t over-bake.

6. Remove the crust from the oven. Arrange ingredients on the crust in this order:

• sliced tomatoes
• sea salt
• fresh mozzarella cut into chunks
• parmesan cheese
• basil cut into thin strips

Save some whole basil leaves for garnish.

Put the pizza back in the hot oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from the oven, cut into serving pieces.