Sometimes I surprise myself while cooking. I know, I know. Everything that Newspaper Food Guy cooks should turn out perfect. Don't want to burst any bubbles out there, but this isn't the case.

        I've had my share of failed food projects. (I like to call it research.) So when the food turns out exactly the way it's supposed to, I admit I'm surprised sometimes.

        Pizza is one of my perennial failures. Every year, I get the urge to make pizza at home — on the grill or in the oven. I should say try to make pizza. My grilled pizzas usually turn out charred with most of the toppings missing (they fall into the fire). My oven-made pizzas end up too thick, under-cooked and often overloaded with toppings.

        Despite these flops, the pizza urge came over me again about a month ago. I found a recipe for pizza dough in the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook (Harper Collins; $34), written by my favorite food person, Alice Waters. I made the dough on a Sunday afternoon and baked two pizzas that night.

        My pies turned out better than usual — the dough was sweet and crispy. But the toppings were unmemorable. So I portioned and froze the extra dough, thinking my pizza urge had passed.

        But last week, it hit me again. I was looking for ways to use fresh tomatoes (even I can eat just so many BLTs) and the weather was prime for baking — not too hot. And, I had pizza dough in the freezer ready for rolling.

        I decided to try two pizzas this time — one topped with sauteed leeks, pancetta, thyme and goat cheese, modeled after my favorite from Pomodori's Pizzeria (Clifton Heights and Montgomery). My other attempt would be the simple, classic margherita, topped with tomato sauce, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil.

        The leek-pancetta pizza was tasty (maybe too much goat cheese, though), but the margherita was close to Italian perfection. The crust was crisp, but chewy enough, sweet and nutty. The mozzarella melted to form an even, rich blanket of cheese, and the sliced tomatoes on top had turned almost sugary from the intense heat. The tomato sauce underneath added a touch of earthiness and the basil still carried the unmistakable accent of spicy clove.

        Forget all the fancy descriptions: The margherita was easily the best pizza I've made.

        What did I do to deserve this success? Was it because I froze and then thawed the dough? Were the tomatoes and basil at their absolute prime? Had the wine I was drinking distracted me enough to keep me from piling on too much topping?

        Quite possibly, it was that I used fresh ingredients and kept the pizza simple. There probably was a little luck involved, too.

        I have another ball of pizza dough tucked away in my freezer. I plan to try making another margherita soon. Maybe I'll surprise myself again.

Pizza Dough

        2 teaspoons dry yeast
        3/4 cup lukewarm water
        2/3 cup unbleached white flour
        4 cups bread flour
        1/4 cup rye flour
        1 teaspoon salt
        1/3 cup olive oil

        Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and stir in the 2/3 cup white flour. Allow sponge mixture to sit until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
        Mix bread flour, rye flour and salt in another bowl. Stir 1 cup cold water and 1 cup of mixed dry ingredients into the sponge. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit another 30 minutes.
        Add remaining dry ingredients and olive oil and knead by hand or electric mixer fitted with dough hook until dough is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. Add a little more flour if dough appears to be wet, but dough should be slightly sticky.
        Put dough in large bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. (For a better tasting, more supple dough, let dough rise overnight in refrigerator.)
        Punch down dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Form each portion into a smooth ball and wrap in plastic. Allow dough balls to rest at room temperature for an hour or so before shaping and baking. Dough balls can be frozen, then thawed in refrigerator overnight. Makes enough dough for 6 pizzas.
        — Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook (Harper Collins; $34)

Pizza Margherita

        1/2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing pizza crust
        1 small garlic clove, diced
        1 medium Roma tomato, cored and roughly chopped
        Large pinch oregano
        Small pinch red pepper flakes
        Salt and pepper, to taste
        Dough for 1 pizza (keep refrigerated)
        1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
        2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
        Handful fresh basil leaves, left whole
        Preheat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees at least 30 minutes.

        In olive oil, saute diced garlic a minute or two, until soft. Add chopped tomato, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste. Stir and simmer slowly until sauce thickens to near paste-like consistency, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Reserve a little olive oil for brushing pizza crust, prepare and assemble other topping ingredients.
        Remove pizza dough from refrigerator and quickly roll on lightly floured board to circle or oval shape, about 1/4-inch thick. Take rolled dough to oven on board or back of sheet pan. Pull out oven shelf with preheated pizza stone and quickly — carefully — drape rolled dough over stone. (Don't worry if dough is not a perfect circle.)
        Quickly brush top of dough with olive oil, add salt and paper to taste, and spread tomato sauce with spoon thinly over top, to within about 1/2-inch of edge. Scatter sliced mozzarella evenly over top, then sliced tomatoes. Close oven and bake about 5 minutes, until cheese melts.
        Pull out pizza and scatter basil leaves evenly over top of pizza. Bake another 2 minutes, until top of pizza begins to brown. Allow pizza to cool about 5 minutes before cutting. Makes 1 pizza, or about 2 servings.

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