Fresh sauce + fresh mozz + fresh basil = SMASH!

There's so much to talk about this week. First off, soooo good! I hadn't made a Margherita and well over a year. This was a friend request. But he couldn't make it for the second week so I invited another friend over and made it anyways. I'll make it again when he's available. I mean, why not. Look at it! It's so pretty. Light, crispy and airy.

Next, let's talk about this dough! This is the second batch in a row where I upped The hydration from my normal level. It's not much of an increase, but I can tell the difference. I know that you purists want the weight measurements. I just don't have them at this time. I wrote down the weights one time just to see where I was at. But I threw them away because I never used them. I always make this by volume measurements. And I eyeball it. It works for me. Eventually, I will weigh things out once I decide if this is where I'm happy. Stay tuned for that!

Now, I've included extra pics this week on the dough process. I've had more space for those pics because a Margherita is so simple. I bulked for the first time. After thoroughly mixing my dough with my KitchenAid, I bulked for 30 minutes and then divided. Everything else was the same as my normal routine. That's how I normally do it when experimenting. I make one change to one variable and evaluate the results.

The dough pics are in order. First pic is after bulking. Second pic is after forming a big ball. Third pic is after forming the dough balls, brushing with olive oil and covering with plastic wrap. Fourth pic is the dough after sitting on the counter for a couple of hours. 5th pic is the dough after sitting in the refrigerator for a couple of days of cold fermentation. 6th pic is dough ball after a couple of stretch and folds, punching the dough down and reforming the ball. The last one is a pic of the dough after 3 hours on the counter!

A Margherita pizza is pretty simple. (My own) tomato sauce, hand-sliced fresh mozz, fresh basil and a light swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Finished with course grated Romano!

4 minutes max temp bake + 3 minutes high broil. Would you smash? Me and my friend did! Let me know what you think in the comments!