Description
Margherita Pizza is the benchmark for good pizzas and this simple recipe sets you up for delicious homemade success.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 ball of Neapolitan Pizza Dough
- 1/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 ball (75g or about 1/2 cup) buffalo mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + more to finish
- 6–8 leaves of fresh basil
Instructions
- Stretch the dough and transfer onto a pizza peel.
- To bake in an oven, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and remove the rack above it. Slide a pizza stone on the rack and turn up your oven to 500 F. Let the stone preheat for at least 1 hour before baking your pizza. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can bake the pizza directly on an inverted baking sheet without preheating it.)
- Dollop the crushed tomatoes in the center of the pizza and, with the back of a spoon, gently spread the sauce in a circular outward motion, leaving 1 1/2 inches of uncovered dough around the edges for the crust. Be careful not to apply too much pressure to avoid damaging the dough.
- Break up the mozzarella with your hands and spread it evenly over the sauce. Drizzle the pizza with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Take the peel and insert it into the oven at a slight angle until you can reach the back of the pizza stone. Give the peel a little shake to allow the pizza to start sliding off it—it should look like you are draping the pizza from the back of the stone to the front.
- Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, until the center has set and the crust has formed nice golden and blistered bubbles. Once you are satisfied with the bake of your pizza, use the peel to remove it from the oven and transfer it onto a cooling rack. Let it rest for 1 minute.
- Drizzle the pizza with more olive oil, transfer to a cutting board or pizza pan, cut and top with a few fresh basil leaves.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Pizza
Keywords: Margherita, Pizza