Steps

1. Combine the yeast with warm water in a large bowl and let stand for ten minutes. Stir in one cup of the flour and stir for 30 seconds with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and set in a warm spot (85-90°F) for one hour to rise. The mixture at this point will be loose, and resemble pancake or crepe batter.
2. Stir in the remaining flour and the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Mix until all the flour is moistened and the dough comes together. Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper. Divide the dough into three pieces and use lightly oiled hands to form them into balls. Place the dough on the prepared tray, wrap the entire tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
4. In a non-reactive bowl, stir together the tomatoes, marjoram or oregano, garlic, olive oil and salt. Adjust seasoning and refrigerate until needed.
5. Preheat oven to 525°F. Adjust the rack to the lower part of the oven and place a pizza or baking stone on the rack. Allow it to heat at least 30 minutes before baking. Substitute an inverted baking sheet, if no stone is available.
6. On a floured work surface, press the dough out into a disc. Roll the dough into a 6- or 7-inch circle and set aside to rest for a minute or two. Roll again to make the dough circle larger and then rest another minute or so. Finally, using floured hands, pick up the dough and use your knuckles to gently stretch the dough to a 12-inch circle.
7. Sprinkle semolina on a wooden pizza peel or on the back of a baking tray small enough to slide the pizza into the oven. Transfer the pizza dough onto the prepared peel or tray and use a fork to poke a few holes in the dough.
8. Spoon 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce over the dough, top with some of the basil and then fresh mozzarella slices. Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone or baking sheet and bake until the crust is lightly browned and blistered and the cheese is melted, from 4-8 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into pieces and serve immediately. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with the remaining dough.

Notes

Just about anything you can eat has been found on top of a pizza somewhere, sometime. The more toppings you like, the thicker the crust should be. The thin, cracker-like crust in this recipe is best suited for light toppings.

In this recipe, some of the flour in the pizza dough is fermented with the yeast and water for 45 minutes, before mixing the main pizza dough. Called the sponge technique, this step makes the dough easier to stretch without ripping.