Basic Margherita Pizza

While the title may say basic, this pizza is anything but. My margherita pizza is delicious because of how simple it is - topped with a simple homemade tomato pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, this is the easy pizza recipe you will come back to again and again and again. My recipe includes options for baking in a pizza oven or in your home oven!

📝 Ingredients

• One ball of homemade pizza dough, ready to use, or dough of your choice
• Semolina flour or regular flour for shaping (semolina is my preference)
• Homemade Pizza Sauce or sauce of your choice (I use about 60ml / 1/4 cup but use however much you like)
• 100 g fresh mozzarella cheese (Fior di Latte or a Buffalo Mozzarella), torn into pieces
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- There are a few methods to bake the pizza - I use a pizza oven but there are notes in the recipe on a few options. Please make sure you read the recipe all the way through first as the oven needs to preheat for quite a while if you are using an at home oven. Make sure that your oven is preheated and ready to go before you assemble your pizza. I recommend you read my homemade pizza dough post for detailed notes on shaping the dough. ---
2. 2--- SHAPING DOUGH ---
3. 3Once the dough is ready to use, place some semolina flour onto a dinner plate or sheet pan. Carefully remove one piece of dough from the container you have risen it in, and place it directly onto the semolina, flipping it so that both sides are covered.
4. 4Transfer the dough to the work surface, adding more semolina if needed. Using your fingers, press in a circle around the edge of the pizza, leaving about a 1-2cm edge. Press down the middle of the ball of dough to gently flatten it off.
5. 5There are lots of ways to stretch pizza but I like to use what I call the 'steering wheel' method - place one hand on the middle of the dough and using the other hand, gently grab the edge of the dough and stretch it out slightly, then turn the dough about 45°. Repeat, going around the edge of the dough 2-3 times until it has stretched out nicely.
6. 6If you would like to, you can carefully pick the dough up and holding it by the edges, move your hands around the sides to use gravity to help stretch the dough further. You can also place it over the backs of your hands to gently stretch it out. This takes practice and you will get better at it with the more pizza that you make.
7. 7You are aiming for a circle of dough that is 12-13" (30-33cm) in diameter, and has a slightly thicker edge.
8. 8Transfer the pizza dough to your pizza peel, giving it a little wiggle to make sure that there are no stuck spots. As you top the pizza, give it a little wiggle every now and then too to ensure that it is not stuck to the peel.
9. 9--- TOPPING THE PIZZA ---
10. 10Once the pizza is on the peel, give it a little shimmy to make sure that it is not stuck - If it feels sticky, add some more semolina flour. I like to shimmy it between every topping that is added to make sure that the launch goes well.
11. 11Top the pizza crust with tomato sauce, spreading almost to the edges. Top with the mozzarella cheese.
12. 12Bake the Pizza using one of the methods below.
13. 13Remove from the oven, allow to stand for a few minutes, then add the basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. I like to also sometimes add some flaky sea salt.
14. 14Serve immediately.
15. 15Top the pizza as desired. Transfer using the pizza peel to the pizza oven and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions - my dough usually takes about 2-3 minutes in a gas fired oven, or 4 minutes in an electric pizza oven. Again, this will take some practice. Once baked, finish as desired.
16. 16An hour before you want to bake the pizza, place a baking steel or pizza stone into the oven. I prefer to use a baking steel as they are much more durable. Preheat the oven to 500°f / 260°c or as high as your oven will go if it will not reach that temperature.
17. 17Shape and top the pizza as instructed in the shaping section. Using the peel (or if you don't have a peel, the back of a sheet pan will work but you have to be very careful), wiggle the peel to transfer the pizza to the baking steel.
18. 18Bake the pizza for about 5-6 minutes until bubbly and golden brown, and you are happy with the colouring of the crust on the bottom of the pizza. Use the peel to remove the pizza from the oven.
19. 19If you are baking another pizza, make sure that you give the steel enough time to heat up again before cooking your next pizza.
20. 20About an hour before you are going to bake your pizza, preheat the oven to 500°f / 260°c or however high your oven will go.
21. 21Shape and top the pizza as instructed in the shaping section. You can top the pizza on the sheet pan you are going to bake it on, either directly on the baking sheet or on some parchment paper. While you are shaping the pizza, if you have one, preheat a second baking sheet that stacks with the one with the pizza on it in the oven for about 10 minutes - this helps with the initial burst of heat.
22. 22Top the pizza as desired, then transfer to the oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, until the crust is brown and the cheese and toppings are bubbly.