Wood Fired Margherita Pizza

This is a take on the classic Italian pizza with fresh basil, whole milk buffalo mozzarella (yes, from a water buffalo) baked in a woodfire oven and topped with fresh torn basil leaves. Even if you don’t have a woodfire pizza oven, the Baking Steel allows you to cook at temperatures similar to a blazing hot woodfire oven inside in a traditional oven that sears the dough. The secret to great pizza is the speed at which the dough cooks and a Baking Steel mimics the super high temperature of the stone of a woodfired pizza oven minus the smoky house.

Ingredients:

• 1 baseball sized tomato, sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch Italian herb seasoning
• Prepared pizza crust
• ¼ cup red sauce
• 8 ¼-inch slices full-fat buffalo mozzarella
• 8 fresh basil leaves
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
• 2 tablespoons shredded provolone
• Additional fresh basil leaves

Directions:

• First make the candied tomatoes. I used Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes. This recipe works with any heirloom tomato that is meat and less watery.
• Slice into half inch slices.
• Place the slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil over the tomatoes, followed by pinch of salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle a pinch Italian herb spice over each tomato.
• Bake for 1 ½ hours at 300 degrees.
• On your pizza peel, sprinkle wheat flour or cornmeal under the prepared crust.
• Spread the pizza crust on the peel. For this recipe I used a prepared pizza crust.
• Layer ¼ cup red sauce on the crust, stopping about 1 inch from the edge.
• Place 8 ¼-inch slices of buffalo mozzarella on the pizza.
• Layer with 8 fresh basil leaves on each mozzarella slice.
• Drizzle 2 teaspoons olive oil over the pizza and sprinkle fresh ground black pepper.
• Sprinkle additional layer of shredded provolone over the top of the pizza.
• Then, layer the sliced candied tomatoes on top last.
• Bake in 800 degree wood-fire pizza oven, turning at appropriate times near the fire to cook evenly — about 3 minutes.
• When removed from oven, drizzle remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over the outer crust.
• Add additional fresh basil leaves, then cut and serve.