Margherita is not a “plain” or “cheese” pizza but rather a simple pie made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Each flavor works in harmony to make the ultimate pizza experience.
This is a killer version of a classic Margherita: 72 hour dough, no-cook tomato sauce, fresh whole milk mozzarella, and fresh picked basil. Simple, yes, but a recipe for success.
A Margherita can act as the template for many other pizzas; you can omit the basil and add sausage, pepperoni, tomatoes—or whatever your wildest dreams tell you!
Makes one approximately 12-inch pizza
1 ball of 72-hour pizza dough, or your favorite pizza dough
80 - 90 grams (2 ounces, or about 1/4 cup) no-cook tomato sauce
150 grams (about 3-4 ounces) fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced or torn by hand
4-5 leaves fresh basil
olive oil, to drizzle on top
Fine sea salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat the Baking Steel in your oven at 500 F for one hour.
- Stretch your dough into a 12 inch circle (oblong or oval is fine). Lightly flour your peel and place the dough on top.
- Set the oven to BROIL.
- Evenly distribute the tomato sauce across the top of the pizza, leaving about 1 inch around the perimeter for the crust.
- Place fresh mozzarella evenly atop the sauced surface. Less is more: it will ooze in the oven’s heat. Add half of the basil leaves on top.
- Use a generously floured pizza peel to launch your pizza onto the Baking Steel and bake under the broiler for 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes, open the oven and use your pizza peel to give the pizza a 180-degree turn or place on bottom Baking Steel. Turn off the broil setting but keep the oven at its highest temperature, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese has attained your desired brownness.
- Use your pizza peel to remove the pie from the oven. Top with the remaining basil. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Slice and serve.
