Onion-free Garlic-free

Margherita Pizza with Homemade Dough

A chewy, blistered pizza with simple homemade dough, a no-cook crushed tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. Baked hot on a sheet pan or pizza stone.

Prep
30 min
Cook
15 min
Total
45 min
Serves
4
Illustration of Margherita Pizza with Homemade Dough, drawn from its ingredients
Cook's note

A very hot oven and a preheated pan are what give the crust its blistered, crisp bottom. Keep the sauce thin and the cheese sparse so the center bakes through rather than turning soggy. Dough can rest in the refrigerator overnight for deeper flavor.

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the warm water and olive oil and stir to a shaggy dough, then knead on a floured surface for until smooth and elastic.

  2. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/, until doubled.

  3. Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a sheet pan or pizza stone inside for at least .

  4. Crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl with the sauce salt and drain off the excess liquid.

  5. Divide the dough in two and stretch each piece into a 10 to 12-inch round on a semolina-dusted sheet of parchment.

  6. Spread each round with a thin layer of tomatoes, leaving a 1-inch border, and top with the mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil.

  7. Slide onto the hot pan and bake one pizza at a time for , until the crust is blistered and the cheese is bubbling.

  8. Scatter with basil, slice, and serve right away.

Tap a number to check off a step. Tap a green time to start a timer.

Margherita Pizza with Homemade Dough
Step 1 of 8

Whisk the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the warm water and olive oil and stir to a shaggy dough, then knead on a floured surface for until smooth and elastic.

Step 2 of 8

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/, until doubled.

Step 3 of 8

Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a sheet pan or pizza stone inside for at least .

Step 4 of 8

Crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl with the sauce salt and drain off the excess liquid.

Step 5 of 8

Divide the dough in two and stretch each piece into a 10 to 12-inch round on a semolina-dusted sheet of parchment.

Step 6 of 8

Spread each round with a thin layer of tomatoes, leaving a 1-inch border, and top with the mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil.

Step 7 of 8

Slide onto the hot pan and bake one pizza at a time for , until the crust is blistered and the cheese is bubbling.

Step 8 of 8

Scatter with basil, slice, and serve right away.

All done

Dig in.

Nice work. Log it, and next time you'll see when you last made it.

esc