Neapolitan pizza with bufala mozzarella and basil

How to make a Neapolitan pizza with bufala mozzarella and basil?

1. Make the dough: dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and stir briefly. Add the flour and mix roughly. Then add the salt and knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes until smooth and not sticky. A longer knead develops a stronger gluten network and a lighter crust.
2. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Then place it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Slow cold fermentation gives the dough more flavor and makes it easier to work with.
3. Take the dough out of the fridge 1 hour before using. Divide it into 2 equal balls and let them rest covered at room temperature. Cold dough tears easily when stretched, so this step is not optional.
4. Make the tomato sauce: roughly crush the peeled tomatoes with a fork or your hands. Season with a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of olive oil and optionally a pinch of dried oregano. Do not cook the sauce: raw on the pizza it gives a fresher, tangier tomato flavor that holds up better to the high oven temperature.
5. Preheat the pizza oven to at least 400 degrees Celsius. Give the oven plenty of time to reach full temperature — allow 15 to 20 minutes. Check the temperature with the built-in thermometer before you slide in the first pizza.
6. Lightly dust your work surface with 1 tablespoon of semolina or flour. Press the dough ball flat with your fingertips from the center outwards and gently stretch it into a round about 28 centimeters. Do not use a rolling pin: it will press the air out and you'll lose the airy edge structure.
7. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto the dough and spread it into a thin layer with the back of a spoon. Leave the rim free. Tear the bufala mozzarella into pieces with your hands and distribute them over the pizza. Add a few fresh basil leaves.
8. Slide the pizza onto a pizza peel and carefully place it on the rotating pizza stone in the oven. Bake the pizza for 60 to 90 seconds. The rim should show blisters and light charring, the base crisp and the mozzarella just melted. Watch the pizza closely because at this temperature things happen fast.
9. Remove the pizza from the oven with the peel. Drizzle immediately with a turn of cold-pressed olive oil and add a few more fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately, because a pizza waits for no one.