Authentic Neapolitan Italian Pizza

Ingredients

• 4 cup flour - دقيق
• 2 teaspoon dry yeast - خميرة جافة
• 350 ml water (1 1/2 cup) - ماء
• 2 teaspoon sugar - سكر
• 2 teaspoon salt (kosher salt) - ملح
• Toppings:
• 4 tablespoon tomato paste - معجون طماطم / صلصة طماطم
• 4 medium tomatoes - طماطم
• 350 gram buffalo mozzarella (fresh mozarella balls) - جبنة موزاريلا جاموسي
• 6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil - زيت الزيتون بكر
• 1 bunch basil (or to taste) - ريحان

Step by step

1. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Add water and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.
2. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes then work the dough again for another 10 minutes. The dough should not be sticky and you may need to add additional flour. Divide the dough into 2 balls and transfer to sealed zipper bags in the fridge for 8- 72 hours. Each bag will yield 3 pizzas.
3. Dust your work surface with flour. Roll out the dough and stretch it all around then divide each dough into 3 equal sized dough balls. Grease 6 small bowls with oil, add one dough ball in each bowl, lightly grease it with oil and cover with cling film (plastic wrap).
4. Allow to rise for 2 hours in room temperature.
5. Chop the tomatoes and transfer them in a blender with the tomato paste. Blend slowly with short intervals, the sauce should still have tomato chunks and should not be a puree. Original recipe calls for salt here but Egyptian tomato paste is usually salty, so salt is not needed.
6. Next, wash and dry the basil.
7. If you are using fresh mozzarella, cut it and place it between 2 clean towels to take away all its moisture. If mozzarella is not dry the pizza will end up being soggy. Skip this step if you are using the regular grated mozzarella from the supermarket.
8. To put the pizza together, flip one dough ball in a bowl of flour and pat it. Roll out the dough into a circle shaped thin layer on a floured surface, and use your hands to thicken the edges.
9. Dust an empty pizza skillet or stone with flour, tap out the excess, and place in a very high temperature oven (300 degrees) for 15 minutes until it’s very hot.
10. Place the rolled out pizza dough on the hot skillet.
11. Work quickly to add 2 tbsps. tomato sauce (leaving the edges clean), mozzarella, basil, and a drizzle olive oil, then move your pizza to the already very hot oven. The dough will start its baking process once it is placed on the hot skillet. Leave the pizza in a very hot oven (300) on the highest oven rack level for 5 minutes or until the mozzarella melts. Enjoy the best home-made pizza ever.
12. Repeat to bake the rest of the pizzas, OR turn the pizza dough into pretzels (by following the link in recipe introduction).