Easy Margherita Pizza
This easy Margherita pizza recipe is perfect for two, and one of the best pizza recipes that’ll come from your kitchen.
This pizza is a nice contrast to other recipes that require you to prepare dough the night before, allow for multiple resting times and purchase a special pan. None of those things are deal breakers, but sometimes you just don’t want to.
Dough & Baking
No stand mixer required, no long kneading times, ingredients you already have. Awesome, right?? The only thing you’ll really want to get is either a baking steel or stone. It’s an investment, but if you plan on making a lot of homemade pizza, it’s worth it.
Baking steels mimic brick pizza ovens by absorbing the heat from your oven, allowing you to get the crispiest crust possible. Be sure to also grab a pizza peel to make transferring the dough to and from the oven easier.
Sauce & Cheese
This sauce isn’t cooked beforehand, giving it a bright and delicious flavor. Simply stir the sauce ingredients together before spreading over the pizza dough.
You can either cube or slice the fresh mozzarella, just be sure to avoid anything packed in water, or you’ll have puddles on your pizza instead of melted cheese.
Lastly, tear some fresh basil leaves up and sprinkle some on top before baking, and then garnish with a few more before serving.
This easy margherita pizza bakes quickly, the crust should be nicely browned within 10 minutes. Garnish with parmesan, if desired.
Storage
Store any leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Print
Easy Margherita Pizza
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Rise Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours + 25 minutes
- Yield: Two 10-inch pizzas 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Easy, bright and fresh – this margherita pizza is absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 7 oz warm water (105-110 degrees F)
- 1 TB olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes in puree
- 3 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Toppings:
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese (not packed in water)
- 4–5 fresh basil leaves
- finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Make the dough.Β Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the honey, water and olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough somewhat comes together and becomes shaggy. It will be dry and chunky, this is normal.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured countertop and knead for 3 minutes. The dough will come together quickly and absorb all the excess flour, becoming sticky. Generously dust with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. It’s normal to need to flour at least 3 times.
- After three minutes, the dough should be smooth and slightly tacky. Lightly grease a mixing bowl and add the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled.
- One hour into the rise time, position the baking steel/stone on the second to top rack in the oven (about 8 inches from the broiler element) and preheat both the steel and oven to 550 degrees F, or as high as your oven will go. Be sure to always check the instructions for your particular steel or stone to make sure it will tolerate 550 degrees safely.
- While the oven preheats, stir the sauce ingredients together and set aside. Make sure that your cheeses and basil are also close at hand to make assembly easier.
- Once the dough has doubled, divide it in half to create 2 equal portions and shape each half loosely into a ball. Place the dough on a floured countertop and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, sprinkle your pizza peel with flour to prevent sticking. Use both hands to gently stretch each ball of dough into a 10 inch circle. After shaping, place the dough on the floured pizza peel.
- Brush the dough with a little olive oil (about 2 tsp) and spread about 1/2 cup of the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving about an inch of space around the edge. Add half of the mozzarella and half of the torn basil evenly over the sauce.
- Gently slide the pizza onto the hot baking steel and bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven using the peel and transfer to a large cutting board.
- Sprinkle the pizza with more fresh basil and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese before serving.
- If desired, prepare the second pizza.Β
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 22.5 g
- Sodium: 3.9 mg
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.5 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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