Making Pizza Sauce

Making Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

(Serves 5-6 people)

Pizza Dough:

2 lbs unbleached flour

1 lb warm water

½ ounce of fresh or dry yeast

½ ounce of fine salt

3 ounces of extra virgin olive oil

Pizza Sauce:

1 can of peeled Italian tomatoes

Pinch of Oregano

Splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

3 or 4 leaves of Fresh Basil

Toppings:

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh Grilled Asparagus

Fresh Grilled Baby Artichoke hearts

Black Olives

Smoked Ham

Instructions

Make Dough:

pour flour onto your counter and create a hole in the center. Add yeast and salt into warm water. Mix until yeast is melted into water. Pour water and extra virgin olive oil into the middle of the flour. Incorporate flour into the wet mixture using your hands and a spatula. Knead the dough with both hands until it is smooth. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it sit until it's doubled it's size

Shaping Pizza Balls:

Cut dough into 8 ounce pieces. Shape the pizza balls and roll on table to create a smooth small ball. Put all the pizza balls on a tray, cover with plastic wrap and let sit over night

Make Sauce:

Crush the whole tomatoes with your hands into smaller pieces. Add salt, pepper, oregano and basil and mix.

Assembling and Cooking Pizza:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (convection setting preferred) Flour your work surface and begin spreading the dough out using the tips of your fingers from the middle to the outside of the dough. Keep the edges a bit thicker for a crust. Rotate the pizza on the table to expand the dough. Add tomato sauce, fresh sliced mozzarella, grilled asparagus, grilled artichoke hearts, black olives and smoked ham. Use a pizza peal to put your assembled pizza on pizza stone. Put in oven for 5-10 minutes until the crust is brown and the cheese is melted. Finish with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and serve.