How to Make The Most Authentic Italian Pizza

The History of Pizza goes way back. Some say it began in Ancient Greece with it's Mythological stories. Vulcan worked in his forge inside Mount Vesuvius while Venus was at home. Vulcan finished a hard day's work and came home. He asked Venus what she was making for dinner. Venus was nervous, because her admirer had been at their home earlier that day, and she didn't have anything ready. So she took a piece of dough that she had set aside and she flattened it with her palms to form around shape. She sprinkled it with milk and garnished it with berries and aromatic herbs. That was the first Pizza ever made! Margherita Pizza, as pictured above, is the most famous Pizza in the world. It was created in honor of the Queen Margherita, wife of King Umberto I. The best pizza maker in Naples invented this pizza to immitate the three colors of the Italian flag, and dedicated it to the queen. I am going to show you how to make Pizza Caprice

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Pizza dough for 4 people( I will explain how to make the dough)
• 14 oz of pureed tomatoes (passata)
• 2 oz of mushrooms (champignons) in oil
• 2 oz green olives
• 2 oz black olives
• 10 artichokes in oil
• 8.5 oz mozzerella cheese
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt

1. To make the Pizza Dough:
   Things you will need:
   1.1 lb of white flour
   1 oz of brewer's yeast
   1 1/4 C warm milk
   2 pinches of salt
   2 pinches of sugar
   Preparation time: 20 minutes plus rizing time
   464 Calories
2. Pour all the flour into a bowl. Form a well and pour all the brewer's yeast into it.
3. Add some of the milk with a fork and then add the salt and sugar.
4. Add the rest of the milk while stirring. This will form the dough.
   It might be difficult to say how much milk exactly that you will need. It varies every time, due to the temperature, the amount of flour, and other things. If it is too sticky, add some more flour. If it is too dry, add some more milk.
5. Knead the dough on a floured work surface like a counter or a cutting board. Knead until it is smooth and there is no dough on your fingers.
6. Cover the dough with a cloth or napkin, and let it rise for 2 hours, in a warm place. If it's cold, put a hot bowl of water underneath it. This will work very well.
7. Now you can start with the toppings. Prep time: 10 min.
   Calories: 807
8. When the dough has risen to about twice the size it already was, divide it into four pieces. Roll out each piece on the floured working surface.
   The portions are enough for four 12 inch round baking sheets if you like the crust to be crispy. If you want it softer, divide the dough in half and use only two pans.
9. Oil the sheets with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put all the dough onto the sheets. Poke a fork into the dough six or seven times to let it breathe.
10. Tomato sauce:
    Mix the pureed tomatoes with the remaining olive oil and season the way you like it with salt. If you want to add some color, put 1 tablespoon of dried chives into the sauce.
11. Spread the sauce over each pizza you make so that there is about 1/2 inch of space before the edge. Allow it to rise for 20 minutes in a warm place.
12. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and start preparing all of the other ingredients!
13. Cut the artichokes long ways into thin slices.
14. Half the olives and the mushrooms.
15. Cut the mozzarella cheese into small cubes.
16. Set all the toppings aside and bake the pizzas for 15 minutes and then remove them from the oven.
17. Put all the olives, mushrooms and artichokes on top of the pizza, and then the mozzarella last.
18. Bake again for 5 minutes, or until you think it looks done! Every oven is different. Now your pizza is done! Enjoy it!!!

Tips & Warnings

• You can make the dough with baking powder instead of brewer's yeast. If you want to do that, you should use 1/3 oz of baking powder, and mix it with a warm glass of milk before adding it to the well you made in the flour.
• Don't worry if it didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted it to, or thought it would. It takes a couple of times to actually 'get it'.