How to Make Pizza

How to Make Pizza

Pizza - How to Make Dough By Hand Part One

Pizza - How to Make Dough By Hand Part One

Pizza - How to Make Dough by Hand Part Two

Pizza - How to Make Dough by Hand Part Two

Pizza - How to Make Wheat Dough with a Mixer

Pizza - How to Make Wheat Dough with a Mixer

Pizza - How to Make Tomato Sauce

Pizza - How to Make Tomato Sauce

Pizza - How to Make Sauce with Canned Tomatoes

Pizza - How to Make Sauce with Canned Tomatoes

Pizza - How to Shape Dough for the Second Rise

Pizza - How to Shape Dough for the Second Rise

Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza by Hand

Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza by Hand

Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza with a Rolling Pin

Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza with a Rolling Pin

Pizza - How to Shape Dough Into Pizza by Tossing it in the Air

Pizza - How to Shape Dough Into Pizza by Tossing it in the Air

Pizza Toppings

Pizza Toppings

Margherita Pizza

Margherita Pizza

Vegetable Pizza

Vegetable Pizza

Meat Lover's Pizza

Meat Lover's Pizza

Pizza without Tomato Sauce

Pizza without Tomato Sauce

Pizza - How to Achieve a Wood Burning Oven Effect at Home

Pizza - How to Achieve a Wood Burning Oven Effect at Home

How to Plate Pizza

How to Plate Pizza

How to Make Pizza

How to Make Pizza

How To Make A Pizza

How To Make A Pizza

How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup

How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup

How To Make Herb Roasted Turkey

How To Make Herb Roasted Turkey

Cider Chestnut, Squash & Cauliflower Medley

Cider Chestnut, Squash & Cauliflower Medley

Making the Perfect Twice Baked Potato

Making the Perfect Twice Baked Potato

Terrific Leftover Turkey Recipes

Terrific Leftover Turkey Recipes

Hot And Hearty Ham Pot Pie

Hot And Hearty Ham Pot Pie

Flaming Fire House Chili

Flaming Fire House Chili

Simple Cornbread Stuffing

Simple Cornbread Stuffing

Fresh Baja Fish Tacos

Fresh Baja Fish Tacos

Fiery Deviled Eggs

Fiery Deviled Eggs

Redskin Potato Salad

Redskin Potato Salad

Classic Macaroni and Cheese

Classic Macaroni and Cheese

View more ...

Ruth Gresser

Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown

www.eatyourpizza.com  

Owner and chef Ruth Gresser grew up cooking with her mother, who owned a catering business in Baltimore, Md. Ms. Gresser cooked her way through Grinnell College in Iowa before moving to San Francisco, where she cooked for several years at Friends a Cafe and at Le Trou Robert. In 1987, she graduated summa cum laude from Madeleine Kamman's Classical and Modern French Cooking School in Glen, NH. She then moved to Washington, DC, where she has helped open four popular restaurants: Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont Circle, Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown, Blue Plate and Obelisk. Ms. Gresser has been the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including the Women's Chefs and Restaurateurs Madeleine Kamman Scholarship and a guest chef appearance at Alice Waters' renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. She has also been profiled in The Washington Post Magazine, The Washington Business Journal and by Georgetown University Television. Ms. Gresser has been a chef demonstrator, contributor and panelist for The Smithsonian Institution and for FreshFarm Markets in Washington, DC. She is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

Margherita Pizza

Pizza expert Ruth Gresser demonstrates how to make a margherita pizza.

This expert: 1,423,351 views
This series: 1,422,966 views

Download to Mobile Device

Print

Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

1 lb Flour
10 oz Water
1 tsp Yeast
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano
5 Tomatoes
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Parsley

1 tsp Honey (optional)

Instructions

1. Dump the flour on the counter and create a well in the center. Pour in water that is 100 degrees F.


2. Sprinkle the yeast on top and mix the yeast into the water. Let it sit for a few minutes.


3. Add the oil and salt and mix them into the water and the yeast.


4. Gently mix the flour into the yeast mixture.


5. Start kneading the dough. Take a portion of the dough that's farthest away, and fold it over the front portion and then push away with the heel of your hand. Knead for about 10 minutes or until you have a nice smooth dough.


6. Put the dough to rise in a bowl, cover it with a little plastic or a tea towel and leave it out to rise. It will take about two to three hours or you can refrigerate the dough and let it go overnight.


7. When the dough has finished rising, put some flour down on the counter and take the dough out of the bowl. Knead the dough and then cut pieces of the pizza dough into even size pieces and shape it into balls.


8. Put the dough balls onto a floured flat surface, like a plate, and then cover it and let it rise for another hour or so.


9.  Flatten the dough and press all of the air out of the pizza and then take a rolling pin and roll it and turn it and roll it again until the dough is flattened.


10. For the tomato sauce, cook the oregano and the garlic for a minute. Dice five medium size peeled and seeded tomatoes. Add them to the pan and let the sauce cook for 5 minutes. Add the salt and parsley to finish the sauce.


11. Put the tomato sauce onto the pizza dough as well as any additional toppings.


12. Turn your oven to its highest setting and place the pizza on a pizza stone or preheated pan to simulate a wood-burning oven.
 

Print

Transcripts

Hi, I am Ruth Gresser from Pizzeria Paradiso, and we're making pizza today. Right now I am going to make a Margherita pizza. So, a Margherita pizza is a very simple pizza. It's composed of three elements; tomato, basil and Mozzarella cheese. You will notice it's the colors of the Italian flag, and it was named for Queen Margherita. It was developed in the late 1800s, so it's sort of a classic pizza. So, the first thing that you want to do is you want to put your tomato onto your pizza dough. So, just spoon some tomato on. The one thing that I want to caution you about in making pizza is don't top it heavily. The important part of the pizza being the crust, you don't want to smother the flavor of the crust by piling it high with too many toppings. So, I have spread the tomato around the pizza, as you can see I have left a nice thick edge around the outside of the pizza, and that's going to rise nicely, and that's called the corona of the pizza. So, we're just going to put some basil on to the pizza, some whole basil leaves. For the very large pieces, you can break them in half. Then we are going to top our pizza with some diced Mozzarella cheese, and that's it. You are going to put a little bit of salt, scatter a little salt on top, a little bit of oil, and you can put a little bit of black pepper, and there you have it. Next, we are going to make a vegetable pizza.

Hi Ruth by chrissy at 05/08/11 10:05PM Flag

I have learnt how to make a pizza from scratch, by watching your tutorial, I appreciate it thanks, will try it soon.

Is it really that easy? Cont'd by howieneon at 02/17/08 12:46PM Flag

places to pick up my first pizza stone and peel. How fun! Anyhow.. Wish me luck! Howie Cohen, aka The King of Neon www.justneon.com

Is it really that easy? by howieneon at 02/17/08 12:44PM Flag

Hi Ruth! I hope that you will read this comment. Well.. my wife thinks I have offically lost it. The only thing I know how to make is RESERVATIONS! Believe it or not, I am actually going to try to make this pizza. When I came home from the grocery story the other day I exclaimed that I bought something for my wife. It actully was for me... a packet of yeast! How funny! Anyhow, I am going to try this perhaps today. I also am actually going to one of the Bed, Bath and other stuff plac

Is it really that easy? by howieneon at 02/17/08 12:40PM Flag

(Add Comment)

How to Make Homemade Vegetarian Pizza

How to Make Homemade Vegetarian Pizza

Fun Desserts - Rolling Cookie Pizza Dough

Fun Desserts - Rolling Cookie Pizza Dough

Fun Desserts - Topping Chocolate Pizza

Fun Desserts - Topping Chocolate Pizza

How to Make Pie Pastry Dough

How to Make Pie Pastry Dough

Greek Recipes - How to Work with Fillo Dough

Greek Recipes - How to Work with Fillo Dough

Apple Pie - How to Make Pie Crust Dough

Apple Pie - How to Make Pie Crust Dough

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Placing the Ricotta Tart Dough in a Springform Pan

Placing the Ricotta Tart Dough in a Springform Pan

Pizza - Shaping the Dough

Pizza - Shaping the Dough

Adding Chocolate Pie Dough to the Pie Pan

Adding Chocolate Pie Dough to the Pie Pan