Pizza Margherita - cooking recipe

Ingredients

None None FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH
2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
None None FOR THE TOPPING
1 lb firm ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp shredded basil leaves, plus additional leaves, to garnish
5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Preparation

For the pizza dough, combine flour, yeast, sugar and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Combine 1 cup warm water with half of oil. Stir into dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until dough becomes too firm to stir. Using your hands, work dough into a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough with hands until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, use an electric mixer with a dough hook and knead on low speed for 3 mins.
Brush a large bowl with remaining oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean tea towel. Let stand in a warm place for 1 hour, until mixture doubles in size. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; punch dough down and knead very lightly.
Preheat the oven to 425\u00b0F. Grease two pizza or baking pans. Place tomato, olive oil and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve to drain off excess liquid. Halve dough and pat out each piece to a 12-inch round. To stretch dough in traditional way, hold up slightly patted out round with both hands and let dough fall away from hands, stretching it out in the process.
Place dough on prepared pans. Gently press, pat and push dough outwards until it reaches the edges, forming a thick rim on the outside. Spread tomato puree over pizza crusts, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edges. Sprinkle with shredded basil. Top with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella slices.
Bake for 15 mins, swapping pans halfway through cooking, until cheese is bubbling and edges of crust are golden brown. Sprinkle with additional basil leaves. Serve.