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Homemade Pizza · Margherita

Homemade Margherita Pizza

A chewy, crisp-bottomed crust topped with a quick no-cook tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. Baking on a preheated, upside-down sheet pan gets close to a pizzeria crust in a home oven.

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Prep
30 min
Cook
20 min
Total
3 hr 5 min
Serves
4 · two 12-inch pizzas
Level
Medium

Ingredients

Dough

  • 3 cups bread flour, spooned and leveled, about 375 grams
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 ⅛ cups warm water, about 100°F
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the bowl

Sauce

  • 1 can crushed tomatoes, 14 ounces
  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings

  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces
  • 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
  • ½ cup fresh basil, leaves
  • olive oil, for drizzling

Steps

  1. Stir the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the warm water and oil and stir into a shaggy dough.
  2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead until smooth and springy.
  3. Set the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it to coat, cover and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled.
  4. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven with a sheet pan upside down on it, and heat the oven to 500°F so the pan gets very hot.
  5. While the oven heats, divide the dough into 2 balls, cover them with a towel and let them relax so they stretch easily.
  6. Stir the crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt and oil together for the sauce; it doesn't need cooking.
  7. Pat the mozzarella pieces dry with paper towels so they don't make the pizza soggy.
  8. On a sheet of floured parchment, press and stretch one ball into a 12-inch round with your fingertips, leaving the edge a little thicker.
  9. Spread half the sauce thinly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border, then scatter on half the mozzarella and Parmesan.
  10. Using a second sheet pan as a paddle, slide the pizza on its parchment onto the hot pan. After 4 minutes, pull the parchment out from under it.
  11. Keep baking until the crust is deep golden and the cheese is bubbling and spotted.
  12. Move the pizza to a board, top with basil leaves and a drizzle of oil, and let it sit 2 minutes before slicing. Repeat with the second pizza.

Tip: Let the oven heat a full 45 minutes; the hot pan is what crisps the bottom.

Tip: Too much sauce or wet cheese makes a soggy middle. Keep the toppings light.

Storage: Refrigerate leftover slices up to 4 days or freeze up to 1 month. Reheat in a hot skillet or a 400°F oven.

Make ahead: For more flavor, refrigerate the kneaded dough in an oiled, covered bowl up to 3 days; let it sit at room temperature 1 hour before shaping.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 680 calories · protein 28 g · carbohydrates 85 g · fiber 5 g · sugars 6 g · fat 26 g (saturated 10 g) · sodium 1,610 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 13 of 13 ingredients.