Pizza Margherita

PREP TIME: 2.5 HR | COOK TIME: 7-10 MIN | YIELD: 2-3 pizzas

Scrumptious Moment - Pizza Dough Adventures

If you know me, you know that I am in love with pizza and all its variations - New York slice, Detroit style, Neapolitan, Domino’s… I don’t discriminate against bread, tomato sauce, and cheese in any form. During the pandemic, many of our favorite local pizza joints closed temporarily… and we were craving a hot slice right out of the often. So, I went on the journey to learn how to make restaurant-quality or wood-fire style pizza, but in my mom’s normal oven. To say it was a challenge would be an understatement, but I eventually perfected a nearly foolproof recipe for making Margherita pizza at home!

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PIZZA MARGHERITA

If you know me, you know that I’m in love with pizza in all its forms—New York slice, Detroit style, Neapolitan, Domino’s… I don’t discriminate against a combination of bread, tomato sauce, and cheese in any form. During the pandemic, many of our favorite local pizza joints closed temporarily, and we were craving that hot slice straight out of the oven. So, I set out to learn how to make restaurant-quality, wood-fire style pizza at home, even without a fancy pizza oven. Wood-fired pizza is known for its smoky, charred crust and perfectly melted cheese, creating a rustic and flavorful experience. While traditionally made in a brick oven, it’s totally possible to recreate that magic with a regular oven. It took some trial and error, but after a lot of experimenting, I perfected a mostly fool-proof recipe for making Margherita pizza at home.

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THE DOUGH

Getting dough that's crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside can be tricky, but it’s all about the right order of five key ingredients: bread flour, sea salt, cold water, sugar, and dry yeast. The key is that sugar activates the yeast to help it rise, while salt can slow down or even stop that process if added too soon, leaving you with a flat dough. To get that perfect bubbly texture, make sure to follow this order:

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the bread flour and salt well. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, sugar and yeast very well and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Slowly pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Step 2: Turn the wet dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until soft and rolled into a ball. Place the dough ball into an oiled bowl (use olive oil) and cover with a damp towel in a warm place for about 2 hours. You could place the bowl by a sunny window or in a turned off, warm oven.

Step 3: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and cut the dough in two equal halves and gently reroll into two balls. Then cover both dough balls with a damp towel and let sit for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a pizza stone sitting in the oven while its heating. This allows it to bake the pizza from the bottom when we slide it in.

Step 4: Take each dough ball and press your fingers 1 inch from the edges throughout the perimeter of the dough. Then press your fingers from the center and slowly stretch the sough until a circular shape is formed.

Step 5: Transfer the dough quickly onto parchment paper slightly larger than the pizza dough. This will allow for easy transfer to and from the oven and parchment paper won’t burn in the oven.

Step 6: Once you have placed the sauce, cheese, and toppings, use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes until the dough is bubbly and golden brown.

Equipment:

• Pizza Peel

• Pizza Stone

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THE SAUCE

Ditch the storebought pizza sauce and make your own with three simple ingredients: San Marzano Tomatoes, sea salt, and sugar. The best brands for the tomatoes are Cento or Mutti, and I recommend buying the peeled tomatoes.

To make the sauce, strain the peeled tomatoes and strain them to get rid of the bitter remnants in the can. Crush the tomatoes with your hand into a sauce and continue to crush with a potato masher or an immersion blender. Heat the crushed tomatoes on medium to medium low, and season with sugar, salt and olive oil. Periodically mix together and taste test until you get the flavor and consistency you desire in a pizza sauce.

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THE CHEESE

For a Margherita pizza, I like to use a combination of two cheeses: Pecorino Romano and Mozzarella (sliced, not shredded). After the sauce is spread on the crust, I grate Pecorino Romano all over the pizza until its lightly covered. Then I take the slices of Mozzarella and place them on different sides of pizza, leaving distance between each slice. Finally, I sprinkle more Pecorino Romano on top to finish it off.

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Yield: 8 SLICES PER PIZZA

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PIZZA MARGHERITA

This classic "woodfire" Margherita pizza recipe combines a crispy, golden crust with a simple yet flavorful topping of fresh mozzarella, vibrant tomatoes, and fragrant basil for an irresistible taste of Italy.

Prep time: 2 H & 30 MCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 2 H & 40 M

Ingredients

• 3 cups of bread flour
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoons of dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 6 tablespoons of homemade pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano, grated
• 8 slices of Mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• fresh basil leaves

Pizza Sauce

• 1 can of peeled San Marzano Tomatoes (Cento or Mutti)
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Instructions

Making the Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour and salt well. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, sugar and yeast very well and let it sit for 3-5 minutes. Slowly pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
2. Turn the wet dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until soft and rolled into a ball. Place the dough ball into an oiled bowl (use olive oil) and cover with a damp towel in a warm place for about 2 hours. You could place the bowl by a sunny window or in a turned off, warm oven.
3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and cut the dough in two equal halves and gently reroll into two balls. Then cover both dough balls with a damp towel and let sit for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a pizza stone sitting in the oven while its heating. This allows it to bake the pizza from the bottom when we slide it in.
4. Take each dough ball and press your fingers 1 inch from the edges throughout the perimeter of the dough. Then press your fingers from the center and slowly stretch the sough until a circular shape is formed.
5. Transfer the dough quickly onto parchment paper slightly larger than the pizza dough. This will allow for easy transfer to and from the oven and parchment paper won’t burn in the oven
6. Once you have placed the sauce, cheese, and toppings, use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes until the dough is bubbly and golden brown.

Making the Sauce

1. Strain the San Marzano tomatoes and crush them with your hand into a saucepan on medium low heat.
2. Add sea salt and sugar to the saucepan and using an immersion blender or potato masher, gently crush the tomatoes until a sauce is formed. Be careful not to blend too much to avoid a soupy texture.
3. Add the olive oil and combine together.
4. Top the pizza with this homemade sauce, cheese, and slide into the heated oven.