Lessons

The most basic homemade margherita pizza

Pizza Corner: the margarita pizza, the pinnacle of pizzas is literally better than the sum of its parts. Here is how you approach it if you are a beginner.

— 2 min read
Recipe
Prep
Cook
Total
Servings
Jump to Recipe
The most basic homemade margherita pizza

The margherita pizza is the pinnacle of pizzas. It is literally better than the sum of its parts. Here is how you approach it if you are a beginner.

tl;dr: get the dough ready, heat up the oven, add the marinara, add the mozzarella, and bake it. Finish with fresh basil and a bit of olive oil.

Problems of baking your own pizza and how to solve them

The heat of the oven is the biggest issue. A real wood-fired oven hits 500°C — your home oven doesn't get close. Best fix is a pizza stone: put it in before you start and let it heat up for 30–45 minutes. It conducts heat directly into the dough and makes a real difference. There's also the pizza iron, which is apparently even better — I've never tried it. And if you have nothing? It still works. Less perfect, still delicious.

The other thing: fresh mozzarella is very liquidy. If you want a dryer pizza, take it out of the container an hour early, wrap it in a few paper towels, and leave it in the fridge. Gets rid of most of the excess water.

On the sauce — please make your own. Check my homemade marinara sauce. Store-bought is not the same.

Ingredients

  1. 250g pizza dough
  2. 80ml homemade marinara sauce
  3. 125g fresh mozzarella
  4. A few fresh basil leaves
  5. Olive oil, salt, and pepper

Margherita pizza recipe

  1. Heat the oven to its maximum setting.
  2. If you have a pizza stone, put it in now and let it heat up for 30–45 minutes.
  3. Work the dough open with your fingertips in circular motions. There's no wrong way — the goal is even thickness all around so it cooks evenly.
  4. If you have a pizza peel, place the dough on it. If not, use parchment paper. You'll lose a bit of heat, but that's fine.
  5. Spread the marinara sauce over the dough.
  6. Add the mozzarella and spread it around.
  7. Add a bit of salt.
  8. Slide the pizza onto the stone, or place the parchment paper directly in the oven.
  9. Bake for 10–15 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and the cheese is melted.
  10. Remove, add fresh basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil, and cut into slices.