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BREAD & PIZZA

Pizza alla marinara
Naples - Campania
Preparation - Easy
One 10- to 11-inch pizza

There is no cheese on this most traditional of Neapolitan pizzas. At its best, with good tomatoes and fresh, sweet garlic, it has no rivals.

• 1 cup basic tomato sauce or 1 cup ripe tomatoes, seeded, drained and cut into strips. (you can also use a store-bought tomato sauce...)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt to taste - go easy, you can always add after pizza is cooked
• 4 medium cloves garlic (to taste), peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons oregano

MAKE pizza dough (about 4 1/2 hours - can be made ahead, see recipe) or use prepared dough from store.

PLACE single oven rack on lowest tier - place pizza stone or tiles on rack.

PREHEAT oven to 550 degrees F. If pizza doesn't have toasty edges (photo) after 6 minutes, oven is not hot enough.

AT room temperature, flatten risen ball of dough into circle and stretch to 11" - 12". You can do this by lifting pizza by the edges with both hands, letting the dough hang, then rotating in your hands until it stretches to pizza size. Some pizzaioli put both fists under the dough and stretch and shape it that way.

PINCH the the outside rim of the circle to create a slightly raised edge to retain the sauce.

PLACE the pizza on a floured baker's paddle, or a thick piece of cardboard (I use an overturned teflon cookie sheet if I can't find the paddle).

WHEN the oven is hot and you are ready to bake the pizza:

SPREAD the tomato sauce on the dough.

SPRINKLE with 2 or 3 pinches of salt, the garlic slivers and oregano.

SLIDE the pizza onto the baker's stone or tiles. Bake for 5-6 minutes, rotating 180 degrees at 4 minutes, until the outer edge is a deep golden brown.

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