This Margherita pizza recipe makes use of easy, contemporary components and examined dough strategies for a crisp crust, creamy mozzarella, and genuine taste at dwelling.
The most effective pizza I ever ate was a slice of margherita pizza in a tiny pizzeria in Naples. I’ll always remember watching that excellent pie come out of the wooden fired oven: the effervescent contemporary mozzarella, peppery basil leaves, and a spotty charred crust. That second modified how I approached pizza endlessly!
I’ve spent years testing this Margherita pizza recipe to attain genuine taste in a house kitchen. Together with my husband Alex I’ve examined this recipe again and again, tweaking all the things from flour sort to pizza sauce consistency. This recipe represents all the things I’ve discovered about home made pizza: and I hope you’ll discover it rivals what you’d discover in Italy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It has genuine Italian taste honed after my a number of journeys to Italy that’s really achievable for dwelling cooks
- Makes use of easy, high quality components and lets the pure flavors shine
- My examined dough strategies create the kind of chewy, crispy pizza crust that makes Neapolitan pizza well-known
- It’s make-ahead pleasant: you possibly can put together the pizza dough and pizza sauce days upfront
5-Star Reader Overview
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I’ve used this recipe with the sauce and dough about 5 instances now and each time it’s excellent! It tastes wonderful and all my mates need it now. Tremendous easy and never too time consuming. Adore it!” -Christine
Useful Tools
It’s simple to make margherita pizza with a couple of instruments and ideas! To get that genuine Italian crispy-on-the-outside crust, you might want to bake it at a really excessive temperature on a blazing sizzling pizza stone. Listed below are the instruments you’ll want:
- Pizza stone: That is what makes the crust crispy on the skin and tender on the within. Right here’s the pizza stone I take advantage of.
- Pizza peel: A pizza peel is a paddle used to slip a pie onto the recent stone within the oven. I like to recommend this commonplace pizza peel as a great starter choice. I really use this conveyor pizza peel, which is definitely worth the funding in case you make quite a lot of pizza. It’s makes sliding the pizza onto the stone even simpler.
🔥Attempt a pizza oven in case you actually need to step up your sport! True artisan pizza is cooked at temperatures a lot hotter than your commonplace oven can obtain. The pizza oven I take advantage of is comparatively cheap and heats shortly to 1000°F.
Elements You’ll Want
Italian meals is all about high quality of components, and that’s key on this margherita pizza recipe! In Italy, the standard margherita pizza topping components are contemporary mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, and a sauce constituted of crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt and herbs. Right here’s what you’ll want for this recipe:
- Use Tipo 00 flour. Tipo 00 is finely-ground Italian flour that makes that signature chewy-yet-crispy texture that makes genuine Italian pizza so irresistible. I extremely suggest ordering some on-line or discovering it on the grocery retailer for the genuine expertise. If you happen to can’t discover Tipo 00, bread flour works as a great substitute.
- Tomatoes: Canned fireplace roasted or San Marzano tomatoes are the bottom in my pizza sauce recipe, together with olive oil, garlic, salt and dried oregano. The bottom line is restraint – I take advantage of solely about ¼ to ⅓ cup of sauce per pizza. An excessive amount of sauce will make your crust soggy, and the simplicity of the margherita will get misplaced.
- Cheese: Recent mozzarella is required for genuine margherita pizza. I purchase the type bought in massive balls and minimize it into ¼-inch items for even distribution. Typically the mozzarella may be watery, so I let it sit on paper towels for about quarter-hour to take away extra moisture and forestall soggy pizza. I additionally like so as to add a lightweight sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese for additional depth of taste.
- Basil: Recent basil is vital to the flavour of a terrific margherita pizza. Be certain so as to add to the pizza after baking so that’s stays fantastically inexperienced. Basil turns black in minutes in a sizzling oven!
The right way to Make This Margherita Pizza Recipe: Step-By-Step
Right here’s an summary of the fundamental course of for home made margherita pizza, or bounce to the full recipe in case you’re able to get began!
Make the pizza dough. You’ll want quarter-hour to make it, then enable it to rise for 45 minutes. (It’s also possible to make it forward and refrigerate or freeze it.)
Step 3: Bake the pizza on a pizza stone in a 500°F oven for six to 7 minutes, or in a pizza oven for 1 to 2 minutes. Take away from the oven and add contemporary basil.
Suggestions for The Pizza Dough
I’ve labored on the pizza dough on this margherita pizza recipe for years with my husband Alex, and it’s earned rave opinions from readers! It incorporates what he and I’ve discovered from skilled interviews with among the premiere pizza cooks in America who studied the pizza in Italy. Listed below are a couple of ideas:
- The muse is a good dough recipe. I all the time begin with my standard home made pizza dough recipe, which I’ve refined over years of testing. Or, this skinny crust pizza dough additionally works: it’s easier to make because it’s rolled out utilizing a rolling pin.
- Make the dough forward, if there’s time. Right here’s a professional tip I discovered from a pizzaiolo in Naples: refrigerate your dough for as much as 3 days. The longer fermentation really improves the flavour and makes the dough simpler to stretch.
- Attempt these easy alternate options. If you happen to’re intimidated by working with pizza dough, strive sheet pan pizza or focaccia pizza, which makes a really massive pizza in a sheet pan. It’s also possible to make forged iron pizza or pan pizza in a skillet.
Storing & Reheating Suggestions
Leftover margherita pizza retains within the fridge for as much as 3 days. I retailer slices in an hermetic container.
For reheating, skip the microwave. As a substitute, I place slices in a chilly forged iron pan, cowl, and warmth over medium-low warmth for 2-3 minutes with a small splash of water. This methodology re-crisps the underside whereas gently warming the toppings. It’s also possible to reheat in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes, or an air fryer is ideal for reheating pizza!
Methods to Serve
I really like a great pizza evening! One among my favourite eating places in my metropolis serves artisan pizza with enormous lovely salads, which is my go-to: balancing the richness with a lot of veggies. Listed below are a couple of methods I wish to serve my margherita pizza:
Variations to Attempt
I’ve so many favourite pizza recipes, although this margherita pizza is my #1 favourite! If you happen to like experimenting, strive white pizza like pizza bianca or ricotta pizza.
My pesto pizza is one other good different sauce, or you possibly can go American-style and make a home made cheese pizza. I additionally love non-traditional pizza toppings like taco pizza!
Just a few different margherita variations: you possibly can add prosciutto for added salty taste, or substitute as much as 1 / 4 of the flour with complete wheat flour for added nutty taste.
Acquired a query? We’ve made this recipe lots of of instances in many alternative ovens and are comfortable to share our experience. Shoot us an electronic mail at data@acouplecooks.com in case you need assistance.
Regularly Requested Questions
San Marzano tomatoes are prized for his or her sweetness and acidity, making them ultimate for Margherita pizza. I like utilizing canned fireplace roasted tomatoes for the same taste profile.
Pizza margherita showcases the colours of the Italian flag: pink from the tomato sauce, white from the mozzarella, and inexperienced from the basil. The story goes that it was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, an Italian queen within the 1800’s.
With a correct Italian accent, it feels like mar-geh-REE-ta. It sounds just like the traditional Mexican cocktail, the margarita, which by the way is a standard misspelling of this phrase!
A traditional Neapolitan pizza dough made with Tipo 00 flour and cooked in a very popular oven is good. Nonetheless, home made or store-bought pizza dough can work too!
Goal for a excessive temperature (round 450°F to 500°F) to attain a crispy crust. Baking on a preheated pizza stone can additional improve the crust’s texture.
Recent basil is finest added after baking. The warmth wilts the leaves barely, releasing their aromatic aroma with out burning them.
The dough may be ready upfront, however assemble and bake the pizza proper earlier than serving for optimum freshness and a crispy crust. Leftovers may be reheated within the oven or in a dry skillet on the stovetop (add a drop or two of water and warmth lined for a pleasant solution to reheat).
You need to use a parchment paper “peel.” Slide the pizza onto a big piece of parchment paper dusted with flour. Then, rigorously slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet within the oven.
Sure! Freeze home made pizza dough for as much as 3 months. After the primary rise, divide the dough into particular person pizza-sized parts, coat every ball calmly with olive oil, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place in freezer baggage. Thaw within the fridge in a single day, then let come to room temperature for half-hour earlier than stretching.
Selfmade Margherita Pizza
This margherita pizza recipe makes it simple to make artisan Italian-style pizza at dwelling with the proper steadiness of contemporary mozzarella, basil, and fire-roasted tomato sauce. After years of analysis, listed here are my skilled strategies for crispy, chewy crust and traditional flavors!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook dinner Time: 7 minutes
- Whole Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings (2 slices every) 1x
- Class: Foremost Dish
- Methodology: Baked
- Delicacies: Italian
For the pizza dough
For the pizza sauce
- 1 small garlic clove (1/2 medium)
- 15 ounces crushed fireplace roasted tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon additional virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (scant)
For the toppings
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup pizza sauce
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or 2 to 3 ounces contemporary mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese, for topping (elective)
- Recent basil leaves, for garnish
- Make the pizza dough: Observe the Finest Pizza Dough recipe to organize the dough. (This takes about quarter-hour to make and 45 minutes to relaxation.)
- Place a pizza stone within the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (right here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Make the pizza sauce: Reduce the garlic into a couple of tough items. Place the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and kosher salt in a blender. Mix till absolutely mixed. (You’ll use about ⅓ cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for as much as 1 week.)
- Put together the cheese: If utilizing contemporary mozzarella cheese, slice it into ¼ inch thick items (see the pictures of the pre-baked pizza above). If it’s extremely watery contemporary mozzarella (all manufacturers fluctuate), chances are you’ll need to let it sit on a paper towel to take away moisture for about quarter-hour then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to take away any further moisture.
- Bake the pizza: When the oven is prepared, mud a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you happen to don’t have a pizza peel, you need to use a rimless baking sheet or the again of a rimmed baking sheet. However a pizza peel is effectively definitely worth the funding!) Stretch the dough right into a circle; see The right way to Stretch Pizza Dough for directions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Unfold a skinny layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, utilizing about ¼ to ⅓ cup. Add the mozzarella cheese. Prime with a skinny layer of contemporary grated Parmesan cheese (if utilizing) and some pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to rigorously switch the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza till the cheese and crust are properly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes within the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Enable the pizza to chill for a minute or two earlier than including the basil on prime (complete leaves, calmly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into items and serve instantly.
Notes
*Make the pizza dough 1 hour upfront (for day of preparation), or you can also make it upfront and refrigerate as much as 3 days. Refrigerating the dough really provides to the flavour. Enable refrigerated dough to return to room temperature earlier than utilizing by letting it stand for about 30 to 45 minutes. It’s also possible to freeze the dough: go to The right way to Freeze Pizza Dough.
**Make the pizza sauce as much as 1 week upfront and refrigerate.
