Mozzarella Pizza with Tomato Sauce

Dough and tomato sauce

1. To make the mozzarella pizza fluffy and soft, I suggest making a versatile yeast dough.

2. Spread the ready dough on a pan or baking sheet into a round about 32 cm across and let it rise for at least 20 minutes. A soft crust is guaranteed. While the dough is rising, you will have time to make the tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes or canned tomato pulp.

   

3. Heat 1-1.5 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

4. Peel 1-2 cloves of garlic and chop them together with the chili – use as much hot pepper as you like.

5. Lightly fry the pepper and garlic in the oil – literally 2 minutes is enough.

6. Scald fresh tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the thin skin and remove the seeds, then cut the flesh into small cubes. If you chose canned pulp, just chop it with a knife.

7. Add the prepared tomatoes to the pan.

   

8. Salt the tomato sauce well and add 0.5 tsp of dried oregano. If you want a sweet-and-sour sauce, add 1-2 pinches of sugar.

9. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes over medium heat without a lid, until it thickens properly.

10. Let the sauce cool to room temperature.

    

Topping

1. By now the dough on the pan has risen and become fluffier. Press the middle down a little with your hands, leaving a rim about 2.5-3 cm wide around the edge.

2. Spread all the tomato sauce in the middle of the dough and level it with a spoon. There’s no need to brush the rim – it will bake as it is.

   By the way, if you have extra mozzarella, you can tuck some of it into the rim so the cheese is completely covered with dough.

   

3. Slice the cheese for the topping into slabs about 8-10 mm thick. If the mozzarella comes as small balls, you don’t have to cut them.

4. Arrange the cheese in large patches over the tomato. Don’t grate it or cut it into small pieces – spread the cheese evenly, but leave large areas of tomato showing.

   

5. Sprinkle the topping with finely grated Parmesan.

   First, it improves the flavor, since mozzarella is quite neutral in taste. Second, it helps hold in place the rather runny sauce and the cheese, which will stretch a lot as it melts.

6. Drizzle the topping with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

   

Baking and serving

1. Put the pan in an oven preheated to 190°C and bake for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough by lifting the edge. As soon as the bottom starts to turn golden, the pizza is ready. By then the mozzarella and Parmesan have melted well and even spread a little, forming uneven pale patches over the tomato sauce.

   

2. Transfer the pizza to a wooden board and cut it into 6-8 slices with a pizza wheel.

3. Serve the pizza right away while it’s hot – the cheese starts to harden as it cools. Fresh green basil leaves are often added on top – that version is close to a Margherita. By the way, pizza with tomato and cheese is delicious with fresh tomato juice – I love it.