Neapolitan Pizza Dough & White Pizza Recipe

One of the things I miss most about living in Italy is pizza.  They make the best pizza dough there, thin but chewy.  I know there are pizzerias in the States that make this kind of dough but I don't seem to ever live near any of them.  The mainstream delivery places make "thin crust" pizzas now but they are crispy and all wrong!  This recipe is the nearest thing I have found to traditional Neapolitan pizza dough.  Thin, but still soft and flexible.  And an added bonus, no waiting for the dough to rise!

3 tsp. dry yeast1/4 teaspoon of sugar3/4 cup of lukewarm water1 3/4 cups of unbleached white flour1/2 teaspoon of saltPlace lukewarm water in stand mixer bowl and add sugar.  Sprinkle over yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.   Add salt and flour.  Knead on speed 2 for about 3 minutes.  Turn dough out onto floured pizza stone and stretch by hand into a 12" circle.  Top with your favorite toppings (white pizza recipe below) and bake in a preheated oven at 450-500 F for 8-12 minutes.  Put toppings on THINLY, if you put a lot of toppings or sauce on then cook longer at the lower temp or the dough won't cook all the way through.  If you are lucky enough to have a wood fired oven in your backyard this would be even more amazing and authentic (husband are you reading?).

We love pizza with all kinds of toppings but the one pictures above is a white pizza and here's how you make it:

In lieu of a red tomato-based pizza sauce make a garlic butter sauce as follows:

Melt half a stick of butter in the microwave or on your stovetop. Add 2 cloves crushed, chopped fresh garlic.  Do not cook the garlic just allow it to flavor the butter.

Spread garlic butter on pizza crust.

Top with:

*Slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
*Dollops of ricotta cheese
*Shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
*Chopped fresh basil
*Fresh ground black pepper

(Also great with goat cheese!...and pine nuts...and roasted garlic cloves...the possibilities are endless)

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