The Ultimate Pizza Margherita on Beer Dough

PIZZA PIZZA!  Pizza Margherita to be exact.  I mean, who doesn’t love pizza?  If you don’t, we can’t be friends.  Just kidding, but kind of not…If you do love pizza, read on, because I happen to have the BEST pizza dough to share with you today.  There’s beer in it.  It’s delicious.

The dough is soft and pliable and rolls out very easily.  There’s one key ingredient though that makes this dough the best and that’s type “00” flour.  Luckily for us in Newfoundland, Dominion actually carries it.  It’s one of the PC black label products, and it will truly transform the texture of your dough.  It is more expensive than regular flour, but 100% worth it.  It’s from Italy and it’s a finely ground flour with a high gluten content.  The resulting dough poofs right up and is so crisp and light.  Say goodbye to greasy heavy dough, and give this one a try, you won’t regret it!

Another key product that helps make a superb pizza crust is a pizza stone.  You let the stone gradually heat up in the oven as it rises to 425 F.  Once heated remove from oven, put your pizza directly on the stone and then back in it goes to cook.  This gives us a crispy crust, and helps the pizza cook faster.  If you don’t want to invest in a stone, use a baking sheet upside down in the same manner.

We used my fresh tomato pizza sauce recipe that was shared a couple of days ago.  It is perfect for pizza margherita.  It’s a light and tasty sauce that allows the flavour of the crust, mozzarella and basil to shine through.  While I love a heavily adorned pizza, the simplicity of this one makes it my favourite.  Apart from in Italy, I haven’t had one in a restaurant I like as much as my own.  The truth.

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Pizza Margherita

SaltwaterDaughters
A classic pizza of Italy, named for the princess for whom it was created.  Simple and flavourful, you're sure to enjoy!
Prep Time 2 days
Course Lunch, Main Course, Pizza
Cuisine Italian
Servings 1 12" pizza

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 batch Pizza dough recipe below
  • 1/2 cup Pizza sauce
  • 1 handful Fresh basil leaves
  • 125 g Fresh Mozzarella sliced and drained on paper towels
  • extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Instructions
 

  • Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat oven to 450F.  Flour a working surface and roll the dough out into a 12" diameter.
  • Once the oven is heated, remove the stone and sprinkle it with cornmeal. The cornmeal may smoke, but that is okay. Carefully transfer the rolled out pizza dough to the stone.  Working quickly, spread 1/2 cup of pizza sauce on the dough. Add the mozzarella on top of the pizza and drizzle with a touch of olive oil.
  • Cook for 11-12 minutes, adding the basil leaves to the pizza in the last minute, or directly after the pizza comes out of the oven. The pizza is done once the crust is bubbled up and browned. Lift the pizza to check that the bottom has browned as well. Enjoy!
Keyword basil, beer, cheese sauce, homemade pizza, margherita, sourdough breadcrumbs

 

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Beer Pizza Dough

SaltwaterDaughters
Makes enough dough for two 12" pizzas.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 12" pizza

Ingredients
  

  • 2 1/2 cups + extra Type "00" Flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup Beer warmed
  • 2 tsp Instant Yeast
  • 1 tsp Honey
  • 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions
 

  • Warm the beer in a measuring cup until just warm. You do not want it hot or it will kill the yeast. Add the yeast and honey to the beer and mix together. Let sit for 5 minutes.  Add the olive oil to the mixture.
  • Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add the liquid to the well.  Using a fork or your fingers, drag the flour from the outer sides into the liquid in the center, until all is incorporated.  Kneed the dough with your hands until it is soft and pliable, adding more flour if too sticky.  I added an extra 2 tbsp or so.
  • Oil the bowl and cover the dough with a damp dish towel or plastic wrap, leaving in a warm draft free spot, such as an oven, for 1 hour, or until double in size.
  • Once ready, punch down the dough, removing the air, and divide dough in half.  You can either use it at this stage or place it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.  You can also freeze the dough like this for future use.
Keyword basil, beer, dough
The recipe is credited to Nicole and Katherine – The former owner of SaltwaterDaughter.com.