Margherita Pizza Recipe: How to Make Margherita Pizza
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jun 19, 2023 • 4 min read
This classic Margherita pizza, complete with a thin crispy crust and a traditional trio of Italian toppings, is perfect for a dinner party at home or a simple weeknight dinner.
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What Is Margherita Pizza?
Margherita pizza is a classic Italian pizza traditionally topped with four ingredients: a simple tomato sauce, chewy mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil. This Neapolitan specialty is believed to be named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, who visited Naples, Italy, in 1889 and requested a pizza from renowned pizza maker and owner of the famed Pizzeria Brandi, Raffaele Esposito.
Although this simple pizza was already a popular dish in the region, it was allegedly renamed in the queen’s honor (although some Italians dispute this, claiming the pizza was simply named after the Italian word for “daisy”).
The key to tasty Margherita pizza is a crispy homemade crust, baked to golden-brown perfection in a high-heat oven and topped with high-quality Italian ingredients.
5 Tips for Making Margherita Pizza
Whether you’re a pizza pro or a first-time pie maker, these easy-to-follow tips will help you make the tastiest pizza possible:
- 1. Use high-quality ingredients. This simple Neapolitan pizza uses very few ingredients, meaning that the quality of each ingredient in this simple pie will affect its overall taste. Use fresh, high-quality mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, homemade pizza sauce made from fresh tomatoes, and leafy green basil to make this pizza.
- 2. Bake at the highest temperature possible. When it comes to homemade pizza, the higher the temperature, the better the pizza. Crank your oven to the highest temperature possible to mimic the blistering heat of a pizza oven.
- 3. Use a pizza stone or steel. Pizza stones and pizza steels are useful tools that will allow you to mimic the high-heat conditions of a commercial pizza oven in your home oven. These bases, on which you bake the pizza, absorb the oven’s heat during the preheating and pull moisture out of the pizza dough, resulting in a perfectly crispy crust every time. You can also invest in a pizza peel, which slides under the crust and supports the weight of the pie, making transport in and out of the oven a breeze.
- 4. Always preheat the pizza pan. Whether you’re using baking steel or a large baking sheet for cooking your pizza, you should always preheat the surface upon which you’re cooking the pizza. Using a cool or room temperature pan could result in a soggy pizza bottom.
- 5. Make the dough in advance. When making the dough in advance, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for three weeks. Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before using.
Homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe
makes
1 pizzaprep time
3 hr 15 mintotal time
3 hr 25 mincook time
10 minIngredients
For the homemade pizza dough:
For the marinara sauce:
For the toppings:
- 1
Combine the flours and salt in a large bowl.
- 2
In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and olive oil.
- 3
Pour the yeast mixture into the flour and knead it together with your hands until the dough forms. Alternatively, combine ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix at low speed to make the dough. Set the dough aside to rest for 15 minutes.
- 4
Knead the rested dough for 2 minutes. Divide it into two pieces and shape each into a ball. Place the dough on a floured surface, cover it with a damp kitchen towel, and let it rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.
- 5
As the dough is rising, make your sauce. In a food processor or blender, add the diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper, and process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- 6
When the dough is almost done rising, place a baking stone, baking steel, or large sheet pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 550 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 7
Using a rolling pin, roll each portion of the dough out into a 10-inch circle on a floured work surface.
- 8
Brush the dough with additional olive oil and place it in the oven. Transfer the dough to your baking surface inside the oven and bake the crust for 4 minutes.
- 9
Remove the pizza crust from the oven and spread the sauce over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the outside of the crust. Top the pizza with mozzarella cheese.
- 10
Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, about 6 minutes.
- 11
Remove the pizza from the oven and top with fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. Slice and serve immediately.
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