Italian Bakery Style Pizza Recipe

Italian Bakery Pizza is a traditional favorite at Italian bakeries. Italian bakery pizza crust is thick and flavorful and similar to lightly crisp bread. The dough takes longer to prepare than Chicago style or Neapolitan style pizza but it is well worth the wait.

Ingredients:
dough:
1 package of active dry yeast
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup beer

sauce:
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 1/2 tspn dried oregano
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 tspn sugar
1 tspn kosher salt
1 tspn minced garlic

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup warm water and the yeast. Stir so that the yeast dissolves. Add the flour and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let the bowl sit in a warm place for an hour.
2. Add 1/4 cup of warm water to the mixing bowl along with the beer, salt, vegetable oil, and 3 1/2 cups of flour. Mix well.
3. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth - about 8 minutes. Put the dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover it again with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let the bowl sit in a warm place for an hour and a half.
4. Dough should almost double in size. Punch the dough down and knead it for another 2 minutes on a well floured surface.
5. Lightly oil a baking pan with olive oil. Roll out the dough until it is about the size of the baking pan.
6. After you have pressed the dough evenly into the pan, let it sit in a warm place for another 40 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Top with sauce and your favorites toppings. For the pizza pictured above, I used thinly sliced mozzarella cheese and some Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake the pizza for 20 minutes or until the crust begins to turn golden brown.

Italy