Margherita Pizza -

Margherita Pizza

A classic margherita pizza recipe made with simple, high-quality ingredients and a flavorful, thin, chewy crust. This timeless favorite is as satisfying to make as it is to eat.

Course dinner, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings slices

Calories 223kcal

Author Ann Otis

Ingredients

1 14 oz 14-oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes
1 teaspoon minced garlic optional (don't overdo it if using)
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 recipe homemade thin crust pizza dough or a 16-oz ball store bought dough
1 8 oz ball fresh mozzarella the kind sold in a tub with brine
¼ cup fresh basil chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven with a pizza stone on the middle shelf to the highest temperature it will go (mine goes to 550F)
Add the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and salt to a medium bowl and mash with a fork until you have a chunky sauce.
Sprinkle a large sheet of high-heat parchment paper* with semolina or flour and roll out your pizza dough into a large circle, as thin as you can with a rolling pin. I get a 14-inch pizza from a ball of my homemade thin crust dough, linked above. If you find your dough springing back and resisting rolling, let it rest for a few minutes and keep rolling. You may need to repeat this a few times to get a nice, large, thin circle. It helps (a lot) if your dough is at room temperature, not fridge cold.
Spread the pizza sauce onto your pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Don’t go too heavy or your pizza may be soggy.
Tear pieces of the mozzarella ball and place them evenly over the pizza.
Using a pizza peel, a large cutting board, or the back of a large baking sheet, carefully transfer the pizza AND parchment onto the hot pizza stone in the oven.
Bake for 8-10 mins, until the crust is nice and golden, and cooked through and the cheese is melted and blistered. This may take more or less time, depending on how hot your oven is.
Remove the pizza from the oven, let it cool down for a minute or two and sprinkle with fresh basil. Slice and serve.

Video

Notes

*High heat parchment: a good-quality, high-heat parchment paper is needed here, otherwise the paper may burn, or char so much that it disintegrates. Note that the paper will darken somewhat, but should otherwise be fine. I have never had an issue using parchment paper, and find it helps a lot with transferring the pizza onto, and off, the pizza stone. But if you prefer not to use it, you can form the pizza on top of a pizza peel well dusted with flour, and use that to transfer the pizza directly onto the pizza stone.

Nutrition