Recipe for pizza margherita
This is my version of the delightful classic margherita pizza.
There are many ways to make pizza, and I won’t even venture into the debate over whether pineapple belongs on a pizza or not.
However, I tend to prefer the kind of pizza that “smells a bit like Italy”: An ultrathin crust with a sparse amount of toppings. That is, the complete opposite of the popular “Meatlover” from the grill 😉
A real Pizza Margherita is, in any case, a great starting point when making pizza, and you can possibly add a bit of salami or ham if you want meat on your pizza.
You can also toss some mushrooms or olives on top, but remember: LESS IS MORE when it comes to authentic Italian pizza.
What is Pizza Margherita?
It is said that Margherita pizza was made in honor of the Italian Queen Margherita.
A Margherita pizza consists of nothing more than a perfect, thin pizza crust topped with spiced tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil.
The red tomato sauce, the white cheese, and the green basil beautifully and simply symbolize the colors of the Italian flag, Tricolore.
Pizza tomato sauce
I always make this pizza sauce, as it can be made in just one minute and neither needs to be cooked nor heated.
I STOCKPILE tomato passata when it’s on sale because I always use it for our pizza night, which we have approximately every third week.
Furthermore, passata is just wonderful in a tomato sauce, pasta with meat sauce, or lasagna.
However, you can also easily use canned chopped tomatoes – just blend them beforehand so the sauce becomes completely smooth.
Pizza Margherita recipe
I always bake my pizzas on a baking steel, as it helps me achieve a SCORCHING hot oven, which is essential for a perfectly crispy and delicious pizza.
And my thin pizza dough just becomes super crispy that way.
Pizza Margherita
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 400 gram Water
- 10 gram Yeast
- 18 gram Salt
- 750 gram Tipo 00 Flour circa
- 91 gram Oil
Tomato Sauce
- 1 can Passata circa 500 grams. Can be replaced with chopped tomatoes, just blend them first
- 2 gram Cayenne Pepper circa
- 2.4 gram Onion Powder circa
- 2.8 gram Garlic circa
- Salt and Pepper
Topping
- 400 gram Mozzarella Chees buffalo mozzarella
- 200 gram Grated cheese mozzarella
- Basil Leaves can be replaced with pesto
- Pesto green. Can be omitted, but I find that a few small dollops on each pizza add a lovely depth
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- Mix water, yeast, and salt together in a stand mixer. It's easiest with a stand mixer, but you can also do it by hand.
- Add the first half of the flour and then the oil.
- Add the remaining flour until the dough detaches from the sides.
- Let the dough rise for 4 hours with a cloth over the bowl at room temperature. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Divide the dough into six "balls" and let them proof for 1 hour under a tea towel. I usually place them on a floured tray or a large ovenproof dish so they can't rise over the edges.
- Flour the surface again and roll out the six dough balls into pizza bases one by one. They should be as thin as possible.
- Transfer the pizzas to a pizza paddle with baking paper on it.
Tomato Sauce
- Pour your passata into a bowl along with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assembling the Pizza
- Spread a thin layer of your tomato sauce on the pizza base.
- Distribute an even layer of shredded cheese and place slices of buffalo mozzarella on top. If you like, you can add a few small dollops of a on top. It tastes absolutely amazing!
- Bake one pizza at a time: Place the pizza in the oven on the baking paper and bake it for 4 minutes at the maximum temperature of your oven. I can set my oven to 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) with a fan, and the baking steel helps me keep it extremely hot.
- Serve immediately.