Each time Brian and I return to the city after being away with either of our families, we have a knee-jerk reaction to eat pizza. Under normal circumstances, this means that we either roshambo to determine which one of us is going to go stand in line at Artichoke, or, when we are feeling supremely lazy, we call Lombardis and get delivery, stat.

This time however, we were feeling uncharacteristically frisky upon our return to the city and opted to go on a fun date night out instead. Given this break in our routine, I was not at all surprised to wake up craving pizza, and was delighted that the January Gourmet happened to feature a new recipe for pizza margherita, which had for its pros a great sauce and a new baking technique that I was really excited to try.

The dough is pretty standard and simple. For a chewy-while-crispy crust be sure to knead it for eight minutes vigorously before allowing it to rise under a cloth in a dark, warm place.

The sauce in this recipe is very good for its simplicity. Do not allow yourself to be tempted to add extra flavors (a common pitfall for me when making pizza sauce). Follow the instructions to a T and try to use the best canned tomatoes you can get your hands on – I recommend San Marzano if you can find them.

Begin making your sauce by cooking the garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes over low heat.

When the garlic turns golden, add your pureed tomatoes, salt, sugar, and chopped basil. Simmer the sauce until most of the liquid is cooked out of it and it is very thick.

Be sure to begin to heat the pizza stone 45 minutes before you plan to bake the pizza. Slice your fresh mozzarella into slices a little less than 1/4 inch thick.

Wash basil and pat dry with a towel. Pick off the leaves that you will want to use on the pizza and set them aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a piece of parchment that does not exceed the size of your pizza stone. Use your fingers to pull and spread the dough without punching it down. You should aim to make the dough into an imperfect circle with an approximate diameter of 14 inches. When you are satisfied with the size of the dough, ladle your sauce onto the center of the circle and push the sauce toward the outer edges in a circular motion.

Once you have evenly spread the sauce, place your cheese slices around the pie, making sure that they clear the edges by at least an inch and a half.

Move the parchment and pizza to the pre-heated pizza stone and bake for 12-15 minutes (or a few longer if you like the edges burnt).

When the pizza comes out, remove the parchment and pizza from the stone and allow it to rest for a few minutes as you sprinkle the top with fresh basil leaves. I also grated a fair amount of parmesan cheese all over the top and added a small drizzle of olive oil. The pizza was overall quite good. Next time I will cut some of the dough to try to get a thinner, more crisp crust.  This pizza took very little effort and was quite delicious and made for a great delayed homecoming ritual.

Pizza Margherita
Adapted from Gourmet January 2009

For dough:

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting

3/4 cup warm water, divided

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

For topping:

1 (14-to 15-ounces) can whole tomatoes in juice

2 large garlic cloves, smashed

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 basil leaves plus more for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon sugar

6 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1/8 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Equipment: a pizza stone

Directions

Make dough:
Stir together yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl and let stand until surface appears creamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t appear creamy, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Add 1 1/4 cups flour, remaining 1/2 cup water, salt, and oil and stir until smooth. Stir in enough flour (1/4 to 1/3 cup) for dough to begin to pull away from side of bowl. (Dough will be slightly wet.)

Knead on a floured surface, lightly reflouring when dough becomes too sticky, until smooth, soft, and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into a ball, put in a bowl, and dust with flour. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Make tomato sauce while dough rises: 
Pulse tomatoes with juice in a blender briefly to make a chunky purée.

Cook garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until fragrant and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add tomato purée, basil, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and cool.

Heat pizza stone while dough rises: 
At least 45 minutes before baking pizza, put stone on oven rack in lower third of electric oven (or on floor of gas oven) and preheat oven to 500°F.

Shape dough: 
Do not punch down. Dust dough with flour, then transfer to a parchment-lined pizza peel or large baking sheet. Pat out dough evenly with your fingers and stretch into a 14-inch round, reflouring fingers if necessary.

Assemble pizza:
Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1-inch border (there may be some sauce left over). Arrange cheese on top, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border.

Slide pizza on parchment onto pizza stone. Bake until dough is crisp and browned and cheese is golden and bubbling in spots, 13 to 16 minutes. Using peel or baking sheet, transfer pizza to a cutting board. Cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle with some basil leaves, top liberally with freshly-grated parmesan cheese, and drizzle olive oil over top before slicing.

Cooks’ notes:

Dough can be allowed to rise slowly in the refrigerator (instead of in a warm place) for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before shaping.

Tomato sauce can be made 5 days ahead and chilled.