Italian Main
Margherita Pizza
Ratings & commentsTwo crisp-edged Neapolitan-style pizzas with homemade dough, a simple tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. Ready in under two hours.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 2 h 7 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Heat
- Mild
Plan ahead: Let the dough rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
About this Margherita Pizza
The Margherita is pizza at its simplest: a good base, tomato, mozzarella and basil, nothing else to hide behind. The dough is just flour, yeast, salt and water and the sauce is not even cooked. Bake it as hot as your oven goes and you get a blistered, chewy crust that is far better than a takeaway.
Ingredients
- 300 gFlour, strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 5 gDried Yeast, fast-action
- 6 gSalt
- 3 gSugar
- 20 mlOlive Oil, half for the dough, half to finish
- 200 gChopped Tomatoes, one small tin, drained
- 250 gMozzarella, drained and torn into pieces
- 10 gFresh Basil
Plus water and a little salt to taste.
How to prepare Margherita Pizza
Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add 190 ml of lukewarm water and half the olive oil and stir to a rough dough.
Knead on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put it in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for about 90 minutes until doubled in size.
While it rises, crush the drained tomatoes with a fork and season with a pinch of salt. Do not cook the sauce; it cooks on the pizza.
Heat the oven to its highest setting (240-250C) with a baking tray or pizza stone inside to get really hot.
Divide the dough in two. On a floured surface, stretch or roll each piece into a thin 25-28 cm round, leaving the edge a little thicker.
Slide the bases onto sheets of baking paper. Spread with the tomato, leaving a 2 cm border, and scatter over the mozzarella.
Slide a pizza with its paper onto the hot tray and bake for 8-12 minutes until the crust is golden and blistered and the cheese is bubbling.
Top with torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil, and eat straight away.
The method was written by AI from the ingredient list. Cook with your own judgement, and check that everything is cooked through and safe to eat.
Tips
- Drain the mozzarella on kitchen paper for 15 minutes before using it: wet cheese makes a soggy middle.
- The oven must be as hot as it will go. A pre-heated tray gives you the crisp base that makes a pizza.
- Add the basil after baking; in the oven it turns black and bitter.
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