Italian Style Pizza in Oven Form

In Italy everyone would expect to find the usual round pizza but actually when we cook pizza at home we cook it in square oven forms.

Square pizzas can also be found in some shops all over Italy called "Pizza al taglio" that means pizza by the slice where you can buy pizza slices with a square shape.

Making this kind of pizza is very easy, everyone can do it and there is no need to be a pizza master!

This is what is needed:

• 500 gr of flour
• 3 gr of dry yeast (if you have fresh yeast use 10g)
• 3 dl of water
• 25 gr of olive oil
• half tea spoon of sugar
• 9 gr of salt

I used the dough mixer with a hook tool to mix but you can mix also in a bowl with your hands.

First of all put the flour in the bowl and add the yeast and the sugar (if you have the fresh yeast put the yeast and the sugar in a cup and mix them together until the yeast melts, then add this to the flour) and activate the machine.

Add slowly a little bit of water while mixing then add the oil and then continue with the water again slowly. After about 2 minutes add also the salt. Keep mixing for about 10 minutes.

After about 10 minutes the dough should look like in the picture, wrapping the hook and the rest of the bowl should be clean. The dough should feel soft but not too sticky. Take the dough off from the hook and form a ball that you will place back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a humid cloth and leave to rest for at least couple of hours(mine has rested about 4 hours). If the room temperature is below 25 Celsius degrees then put it inside the oven with just the light on to help the growing.

What to put on pizza? Whatever you want! You can choose your favorite ingredients to put on pizza, but here are some of my own favourites:

• Tomato sauce (I always add to it salt, black pepper, oregano and olive oil)
• Mozzarella
• Basil
• Spicy hot salami
• Onions (I have cut 4 onions in quite big pieces, put them in a bowl, add a little olive oil, cover with plastic film and microwave full power for 7 minutes)
• Anchovies (my favorite!)

Once the dough has grown double or more it is ready to be spread on the form!

At the bottom of the oven form spread some oil so that the dough doesn't stick. Divide the dough in two parts and spread it over the two oven forms by pressing it and stretching it equally every side with your hands until it covers the whole surface (I recommend to grease your hands with cooking oil before spreading the dough so it doesn't stick). If the dough "shrinks back" let it rest couple of minutes and then continue again.

Its time to add the magical ingredients!

Spread tomato sauce and the ingredients of your choice. For me anchovies and onions for one pizza and salami for the other one. I have put half salami and I keep the other half wit just tomato sauce because I wanted to have half margherita pizza. :)

Don't put mozzarella yet.

Cook in the oven at 250 Degrees for about 15 mins. Time varies a bit depending on the thickness of your pizza. You can check your pizza after 10 minutes if it needs more cooking or if it is ready for the cheese.

Once the pizza has cooked about 10/15 minutes take it out and now you can add the mozzarella and the basil for the margherita. If we would add mozzarella before it would have started to burn a little. Then put back in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes more so that mozzarella melts.

Everything is ready - now you can enjoy your Italian home style pizza!