Italy · Main · Easy
Margherita Pizza
Blistered chewy crust, bright tomato sauce, molten fresh mozzarella, torn basil. Naples in your oven.
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The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Margherita Pizza, in 5 ideas
- The hottest oven you have is the whole trick. Max it out, stone or steel inside, 45 minutes of preheat.
- Sauce is just crushed tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt. Uncooked. It cooks on the pizza.
- Less topping than you think. A thin layer of sauce, torn mozzarella spaced out. Restraint is the recipe.
- A stone or steel makes a real difference. It is what blisters the bottom.
- Basil goes on after baking, never before. Heat turns it black and bitter.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 lb pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
- 1 (28 oz) can whole San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- Fresh basil leaves
- Cornmeal, for stretching
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
How to make it
Directions
- Heat the oven as hot as it goes, with a pizza stone or steel inside if you have one. Give it at least 45 minutes. This is the most important step.
- Crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, garlic, and salt. That is the sauce. It needs no cooking.
- On a floured surface dusted with cornmeal, stretch the dough from the center outward, pushing air to the edges for a puffy crust. Aim for about 12 inches.
- Spread a thin layer of sauce, leaving a one inch border. Tear the mozzarella over the top and drizzle with olive oil.
- Launch onto the hot stone or steel and bake 7 to 10 minutes, until the crust is blistered and the cheese is molten with browned spots.
- Top with fresh basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like heat, and serve immediately.
The bottom tells the truth. If it is pale while the top is done, your oven or stone was not hot enough. Next time, preheat longer.