Pizza with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella

Your basic American-style pizza. It’s a little too loaded to grill as is (see the last variation for that), but the good news is that the cheese helps unwieldy toppings—like broccoli, bell peppers, or olives—stick to the pie.

1 recipe Pizza Dough
, mixed and risen (Steps 1–3)

All-purpose flour for stretching or rolling the dough

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed

2 cups Fast Tomato Sauce
or any other tomato sauce

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• When the dough is ready, knead it lightly, form it into a ball, and divide it into 2 pieces if you like; roll each piece into a round ball and put each ball on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with a little more flour, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and let rest while you heat the oven.
• Heat the oven to 500 F or higher. Roll or lightly press each dough ball into a flat round, lightly flouring the work surface and the dough as necessary (use only as much flour as you need to). Let the rounds sit for a few minutes; this will relax the dough and make it easier to roll out. If you have a peel and baking stone, roll or pat out the dough on the peel, as thinly as you like, turning occasionally and sprinkling it with flour as necessary. If you’re using baking sheets, oil them, then press each dough ball into a flat round directly on the oiled sheets.
• Drizzle the rounds with the olive oil, then top them with the sauce and cheese; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the baking sheet in the oven or slide the pizza directly onto the stone and bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese melted, usually 8 to 12 minutes. Let stand for several minutes before slicing to set up the cheese.

Pizza with Tomato Sauce and Fresh Mozzarella.
• Since fresh mozz doesn’t melt the same way as the commercial stuff, and because it’s moist, slice it, don’t grate it:Use less than 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella—usually 1 medium ball packed in water. Drain well and slice thinly. After you top with the oil and cheese, spread the slices on top of the pizza (you will have gaps in between so the pizza can breathe and crisp up). Proceed with the recipe. When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle with chopped fresh basil or oregano if you like and some grated Parmesan.

Pizza with Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, and Sausage or Pepperoni.
• Scatter 4 ounces or so crumbled and lightly cooked sausage (or thinly sliced pepperoni) over the cheese.

MAKES: 1 large or 2 or more small pies

TIME: About 11/2 hours with premade dough