Pizza Margherita
Margherita hides nothing, so each of its three main ingredients has to be good. We give the dough a full day in the fridge: it turns flavourful and light and bakes into a puffy crust with dark leopard spots. The sauce isn’t cooked at all, just good tomatoes crushed with salt and olive oil to keep them bright.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 28 h
- Total
- 28 h 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 500 kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
For the topping
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What to use instead
Low-moisture pizza mozzarella can replace fresh. It won’t release water, though the flavour is less milky.
Makes: 2 pizzas (28–30 cm), 4 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
275 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 255 °C
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Step 1: Mix the dough
Stir the flour and yeast together, pour in the cold water and mix into a shaggy mass. After 10 minutes, add the salt and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, springy and barely sticky.
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Step 2: First rest
Cover the bowl and leave the dough at room temperature for 2 hours. It will rise only a little; the real work happens in the fridge.
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Step 3: Ball and chill
Divide the dough into 2 pieces of about 250 g and shape into tight, smooth balls. Put them in oiled lidded containers and refrigerate for 24 hours, or up to 48.
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Step 4: Temper and preheat
Take the dough balls out of the fridge 2 hours before baking so they warm up and turn puffy. An hour before baking, set a pizza stone or an upturned heavy baking sheet in the upper third of the oven and heat it to its maximum, 250–275 °C (480–525 °F), for at least 45 minutes.
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Step 5: Prep sauce and cheese
Crush the tomatoes by hand or give them a quick pulse in a blender, then stir in the salt and oil; no cooking needed. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and leave it in a sieve for 30 minutes to drain, then pat dry.
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Step 6: Stretch the base
Set a dough ball on a floured counter and press it out from the centre with your fingertips, leaving a 1.5–2 cm rim untouched. Then gently stretch it over your knuckles to 28–30 cm. Skip the rolling pin, which squeezes the air out of the rim.
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Step 7: Top the pizza
Move the base onto a floured pizza peel or a sheet of parchment. Spread 3–4 tablespoons of sauce thinly, keeping it off the rim, and scatter over half the mozzarella.
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Step 8: Bake
Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 7–9 minutes, until the rim is puffed and spotted dark and the cheese is melted and bubbling. For extra colour, switch on the grill for the final minute.
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Step 9: Finish and serve
Scatter the basil over the hot pizza, drizzle with olive oil and slice. Let the stone reheat for 5 minutes while you eat the first one, then bake the second.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Same-day dough: use 3 g of yeast instead of 0.8 g, leave it at room temperature for 2 hours, shape the balls and wait another 2 hours.
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Tip
No stone? Heat your heaviest baking sheet upside down with the oven. It stores enough heat to crisp the base.
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Swap
Low-moisture pizza mozzarella can replace fresh. It won’t release water, though the flavour is less milky.
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Storage
Freeze the dough balls after their first day in the fridge. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then give them 2 hours at room temperature.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 4 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 500 kcal | 2,000 kcal |
| Protein | 21 g | 84 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 72 g |
| Carbohydrates | 60 g | 240 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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