For many there is nothing as good as a tasty pizza. It does not matter where you come from, whether it be America, Europe, Australia or China! But what is amazing is that less than a hundred years ago, the pizza was only available in Italy.
Today almost any topping imaginable is available on your favorite pizza, but back then it was the simple pizzas, like the Margherita that were around. Today though, it remains as popular as ever.
The story goes that in 1889 Queen Margherita of Italy was visiting Naples. She had heard of pizza and wanted to taste it. Three pizzas were prepared for but it was the mozzarella, basil and tomato pizza that impressed her, not only because of its taste but also because its colors were that of the Italian flag. From then on that pizza was known as a Margherita (Margarita).
Making a pizza is actually a relatively easy, and cheap process. It can also be a lot of fun, especially if you want to cook with your children.
You will need to make the dough first and for that you will need flour (three and a half cups), warm water (one and a half cups), yeast (a tablespoon), olive oil (a tablespoon) and a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle the yeast into the water, and stir until the yeast is dissolved. You can then set this aside and carry on with the flour. Sift it all either into a very big bowl, or onto a clean working surface, and make a volcano shaped mound, i. E. A hole in the middle. Once the water and yeast mix has stood aside for five minutes, pour it, the olive oil and salt into the middle and draw all the ingredients together with a spatula. Use your hands then to begin to mould it until it forms a dough
Sprinkle flour all over a work surface, and move the dough onto it. Push and fold the dough so it takes in a little more flour. You basically want to knead it until is no longer sticking your hands, and you have a ball of soft dough.
Spread a bit of olive oil in a bowl, and put the dough inside, letting it get a shine off the oil. With a knife cut a line or two across the top so when it raises, it has no breaks. Cover the bowl with kitchen towel and leave it to stand for about one and a half to two hours, depending on the temperature of the room.
At this point, to eliminate the air bubbles, push down and knead gently, until they are gone, then put the dough back onto the lightly floured surface and cut it into three pieces of the same size. Then use a rolling pin (and your hands) to shape the dough into the round thin pizza base.
The toppings needed for a Margherita are mozzarella, a few basil leaves and a tomato puree, which you can mix a bit of olive oil, pepper and salt in. Spread this mixture all over the base, and sprinkle a few small pieces of basil leaves on top. Your oven should be preheated at around 500 Fahrenheit (260 Celsius) and when hot, put the pizza in for ten minutes only. Remove it and put the mozzarella on top and return to the oven for ten more minutes.
And there you have it, a Margherita pizza just the like Queen of Italy had in 1889. You can play around with this basic recipe to make many types of pizzas, adding toppings to suit the taste buds of the whole family.
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