How to Make Margherita Pizza - For the Love of Simple Italian Flavors

Instructions

Making a perfect Margherita Pizza is about understanding each element of the recipe, dough, sauce, toppings, and baking. Here’s how to do it:

Prepare the Dough

Light, airy, and perfectly chewy dough makes for a great Margherita pizza. To do this, take a bowl, and dissolve the sugar in warm water, stir in the yeast, and let it sit for around 5 minutes so it becomes nice and frothy. Somewhere else, mix together the flour and salt, make a well in the middle, and pour in the yeast mixture together with the olive oil. Slightly stir so the dough just begins to come together, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. If the dough is gummy, add a sprinkle of flour; if it's too dry, then just add a little water. After kneading, form the dough into a ball, put it into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and set it aside to rise for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until doubled in volume.

Prepare the Sauce

The sauce has to be with simplicity and delicious for Margherita pizza. San Marzano tomatoes are definitely a must with their sweet-and-sour taste. The sauce is prepared as explained below: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan, and sauté the garlic just a couple of minutes until aromatic. Do not burn the garlic! Then, throw in the San Marzano tomatoes and just crush the tomatoes ever so lightly with the back of the spoon so that the sauce keeps a little chunkiness. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring every now and then to thicken. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to cool enough to put over the dough.

Prepare the Toppings

Few toppings make the Margherita shine. Here's what you'll do:

• Mozzarella: Tear the fresh mozzarella into huge chunks. The rustic style helps the cheese to melt evens out, which also provides those gooey pockets of cheese.
• Basil: Tear the basil leaves smaller. This prevents them from burning in the oven while the fresh aroma still comes through when baking.

Assemble the Pizza

Preheat the oven at its highest temperature, for instance 250°C (475°F), and simultaneously, insert your pizza stone to ensure that it heats up for a crispy crust. Gently knock down the dough and split it into two parts, rolling or stretching each into 10-12 inches in diameter. Take a spoonful of your homemade tomato sauce and gently place it right in the center of the dough, well spreading it out but leaving a couple of centimeters clear to the edges. Arrange your fresh mozzarella evenly, tossing basil pieces and finishing with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Bake the Pizza

Very carefully, the pizza now has to be put onto a hot pizza stone or baking tray for 7-10 minutes until the crust is lovely and crispy and golden while the cheese bubbles with some really slight browning on it. Throw in some fresh basil leaves as soon as the pizza is out of the oven, making sure to keep that lovely fresh aroma. Meanwhile, you could drip just a bit of olive oil of great quality for that lovely glowing shine.