Homemade tomato and mozzarella pizza

Method

1. 1

   Weigh the ingredients and prepare two trays

   Weigh 500 g flour and reserve 20 g for shaping; use 480 g in the dough. Divide the 300 ml water into 50 ml for hydrating the yeast and 250 ml for mixing. Measure 5 g active dry yeast, 5 g sugar, 8 g salt and 10 g oil for the dough. Prepare 300 g crushed tomatoes, 2 g salt, 1 g oregano and 200 g grated low-moisture mozzarella for the topping. Keep the cheese refrigerated at 4 °C or below. Wash and dry 5 g basil. Prepare two oven-safe metal trays about 40 × 35 cm and brush the other 10 g oil between them, 5 g per tray. Add no oil beyond these amounts.

   
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   Separate weighed flour, yeast, water, oil, tomato, grated mozzarella and herbs for homemade pizza

2. 2

   Hydrate the yeast for 10 minutes

   Warm only the 50 ml water to about 44 °C, checked with a thermometer, or the temperature specified on your active dry yeast package. Dissolve 5 g sugar and stir in 5 g yeast. Leave for 10 minutes; look for activity such as bubbles and a light foam. A different volume need not reach a cup mark from another formula. If the yeast is expired or shows no activity, replace it before mixing, without adding extra water or sugar to this recipe. Use the other 250 ml water at room temperature. Baking powder is unsuitable, and no automatic fresh-yeast conversion is proposed.

   
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   Hydrated active dry yeast with light bubbles being stirred in warm water

3. 3

   Mix and knead until flexible

   Mix 480 g flour with 8 g salt in a large bowl. Add all the hydrated yeast, the remaining 250 ml water and 10 g oil. Mix until no dry flour remains, then knead on a clean surface for about 8–10 minutes until even, elastic and slightly tacky. Do not use the reserved flour to hide poorly mixed dough or add water without recalculating; the proposed total is 300 ml. A scraper helps collect the dough. Flour is raw: do not taste the dough, and clean hands and surfaces before touching basil or other ready-to-eat food.

   
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   Hands kneading a pale cohesive pizza dough

4. 4

   Let the dough rise until clearly expanded

   Put the dough in the same clean bowl without extra oil and cover to prevent drying. Leave in a mild place, around 22–25 °C, for about 90 minutes. Look for airy dough approaching twice its starting volume; the clock cannot guarantee fermentation. In a cold kitchen or with slower yeast, wait and add the actual extra time to the total. Do not force the rise on a radiator or in an operating oven. The timing and expansion are proposed and await kitchen verification.

   
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   Puffy fermented pizza dough in a covered glass bowl

5. 5

   Divide into two balls and rest for 20 minutes

   Gently release some gas and divide the dough into two equal portions of about 404 g before using the shaping flour. Fold the edges underneath to make round balls, with their seams down. Cover and rest for 20 minutes to relax. Add no oil to the container and do not leave the balls uncovered. If the dough later resists stretching, rest it for another 10 minutes and add that time to the total instead of tearing it or adding unmeasured flour.

   
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   Two equal pizza dough balls resting beside a clean cloth

6. 6

   Preheat the oven and prepare the tomatoes

   Set a rack in the lower third and preheat to 240 °C with conventional top and bottom heat, or 220 °C with a fan, for about 30 minutes. Keep the oiled trays outside and cool for safe assembly. Mix 300 g crushed tomatoes with 2 g salt and 1 g oregano; do not drain liquid already included in the calculation. Keep tomatoes and cheese covered and refrigerated until needed. Keep both dough balls covered during preheating. This proposal uses metal trays, without a stone or baking paper that might exceed its manufacturer's temperature limit.

   
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   Crushed tomato mixed with oregano beside cheese and cool oiled trays

7. 7

   Stretch the first base to about 30 cm

   Use some of the reserved 20 g flour on the surface and hands. Press one ball outward from its center and gently stretch to a circle about 30 cm across, leaving a slightly thicker rim and an intact center about 3–4 mm thick. Transfer to an already oiled tray. If it shrinks back, rest another 10 minutes and try again; do not pull until it tears. Keep the second ball covered and shape it only near its turn. The diameter and two-pizza yield are proposals, not measurements from a kitchen test.

   
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   Hands gently stretching an intact round pizza base

8. 8

   Add half the tomato mixture and cheese

   Spread half the seasoned tomato mixture: 151.5 g, comprising 150 g tomato, 1 g salt and 0.5 g oregano, over the first base, leaving about 2 cm of uncovered rim. Distribute 100 g grated mozzarella evenly without a central mound. Add no meat, vegetables, cheese or oil beyond the ingredient list. Keep the remaining tomato mixture and cheese covered and refrigerated for the second pizza. Basil goes on after baking to preserve its texture; do not put it on this raw base yet.

   
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   Raw pizza base covered with tomato and grated mozzarella inside a clean rim

9. 9

   Bake the pizzas one at a time

   Bake the first pizza in the lower third for about 15 minutes, checking from 12. The rim should be golden, the cheese melted and the underside cooked and colored, without a pasty raw-dough layer beneath the tomatoes. Carefully lift an edge with a spatula to inspect; if the cheese browns before the base cooks, shield the top or adjust the rack and continue. Remove with oven mitts and place on a rack. Stretch and top the second base with the other 151.5 g seasoned mixture—150 g tomato, 1 g salt and 0.5 g oregano—and 100 g mozzarella, using only what remains of the reserved 20 g flour. Bake for another 15 minutes with the same checks. The proposal counts 30 minutes for two batches; add any actual extra time. Melted cheese cannot replace thoroughly baking the raw flour.

   
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   A baked pizza supported with an oven mitt while a spatula checks the base

10. 10

    Add basil, cut and serve

    Rest each pizza on a rack for about 3 minutes before cutting. Divide 5 g clean basil between them, 2.5 g per pizza. Cut each into 4 equal slices: 8 slices total, making 4 servings of 2 slices, or half a pizza. Conservative planning counts 35 minutes preparation, 30 baking and 153 waiting: 10 for yeast, 90 rising, 20 ball resting, 30 preheating and 3 final minutes for the last batch. The estimated total is 218 minutes without deducting tasks that may overlap; the first pizza can rest while the second bakes. Add further rest or baking time your dough needs. No kitchen test or measured yield is claimed. The finished photograph shows this topping without side dishes.

    
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    Finished tomato and mozzarella pizza with basil and four slices

The step photos are illustrative.