PIZZA MARGHERITA
Pizza Margherita is a typical Neapolitan pizza that consists of pizza dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. As the amount of ingredients used as a topping for this pizza is minimal, it is important that they are of the best quality. Starting with cheese, one of the best cheeses to select when making this pizza is the Buffalo mozzarella. Buffalo Mozzarella is a mozzarella made from the milk of Italian Mediterranean buffalo. It has a soft, creamy texture and a delicate flavour. After baking, this cheese combines perfectly with tomato sauce and fresh basil.
How to bake a Margherita pizza? First of all, this pizza must be baked in a very hot oven, i.e. from 200 degrees Celsius up. Depending on whether you decide to bake the pizza in a baking tray or directly on the baking stone, the baking time may slightly differ. I have noticed that when I bake my pizza on a baking stone, it bakes much faster. In addition, I must admit that pizza baked on a baking stone rises better and is simply tastier. I baked this pizza in a baking tray, but nothing is preventing you from baking it on a baking stone. If you are looking for a simple pizza recipe, I recommend the below recipe for Margherita Pizza.
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Ingredients for pizza Margherita.
Pizza dough.
- 250 g flour type 00
- 160 ml lukewarm water
- a pinch of crystal sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1,5 teaspoon of dry yeast
Pizza topping.
- 125 g Buffalo mozzarella
- 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce
- a few leaves of basil
- 50 g grated mozzarella
How to make pizza Margherita.
Pizza dough preparation.
Sift the flour and put it in a bowl. Combine lukewarm water with sugar, yeast and two tablespoons of flour in a cup, then set it aside for 10 minutes to rise. Next, combine the risen yeast with flour, 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and salt. Mix all ingredients, then knead the dough. Brush a bowl with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, place the dough in it, then cover it with a kitchen cloth and put it in a warm place for 40-50 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
Pizza preparation.
Put the risen dough on the kitchen counter, slightly degassing it, then place it in a baking tray, slightly stretching the dough with your hands. Prick the dough with a fork in several places, cover it with tomato sauce, place the mozzarella slices and grated mozzarella on its top. Leave the pizza to rise for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius and when it is hot, put in the leavened pizza. Bake the pizza for 18-20 minutes. When done, remove the baked pizza from the oven and sprinkle it with basil leaves.
Good to know when making pizza Margherita.
I used a metal pizza baking tray with a diameter of 29 centimetres to bake this pizza. I lightly greased the tray with oil before arranging the dough in it.
Storing the pizza dough: after kneading, you can put the pizza dough in the fridge for a few hours and let it rise a little slower there. When I choose this option, I usually make the dough in the evening and let it sit in the fridge overnight, for about 10-12 hours. The second option is to freeze the kneaded dough. Put the prepared dough into a plastic container, cover it with a lid and put in the freezer. The frozen dough can be stored in the freezer for several weeks.
You can drizzle the baked pizza with a little olive oil and sprinkled with freshly ground pepper.
Do you like pizza? If so, try our recipe for Pumpkin pizza.
