Italian recipe

Pizza Margherita

Name: Pizza Margherita
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: 500 g 00 flour or strong bread flour; 325 ml cool water; 2 g instant yeast; 12 g fine sea salt; 400 g whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand; 250 g fresh mozzarella, drained and torn; 12 g fresh basil leaves; 20 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 3 g fine sea salt for tomato

A thin, blistered Neapolitan-style pizza with tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil. A long room-temperature rise builds flavour while a very hot stone or steel gives the rim its lift.

Italy

Prep: 2 hr 30 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 2 hr 40 min
Servings: 4

Margherita pizza with blistered crust, tomato, melted mozzarella and basil — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Akahito YamabeSource page · Original file · CC0 1.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

500 g
00 flour or strong bread flour
325 ml
cool water
2 g
instant yeast
12 g
fine sea salt
400 g
whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
250 g
fresh mozzarella, drained and torn
12 g
fresh basil leaves
20 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
3 g
fine sea salt for tomato

Method

01
Mix and knead
Stir flour, yeast and water until no dry flour remains. Rest 15 minutes, add 12 g salt, then knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Ferment and divide
Cover and leave at 20–24°C for about 90 minutes until noticeably expanded. Divide into two equal balls, cover and rest 45 minutes more.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Heat the oven and prepare topping
Place a pizza steel or stone on the upper-middle rack and heat the oven at its maximum setting, ideally 250–290°C, for at least 45 minutes. Mix crushed tomatoes with 3 g salt; drain the mozzarella well.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Stretch and top
On a lightly floured surface, press one ball from the centre outward and stretch to about 30 cm, leaving a 2 cm rim. Spread half the tomato thinly, add half the mozzarella and basil, then drizzle with half the oil.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Bake very hot
Slide onto the hot stone or steel and bake 4–6 minutes, turning once if needed, until the rim is puffed with dark blisters and the cheese is melted. Repeat with the second pizza and serve immediately.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Preheat the oven fully before baking so the centre and surface cook on schedule.
Rest the finished dish briefly before cutting so steam and juices settle.

Common mistakes

Do not rely only on surface colour; check the centre for the stated doneness cue.
Overfilling the pan traps steam and prevents proper browning.

Substitutions

A similarly sized metal or ceramic baking dish can be used; adjust the final minutes if browning differs.
Use the closest local equivalent of the specified cheese, but keep the quantity unchanged for balance.

Storage

Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 180°C oven until the centre is hot; crisp breads are best refreshed uncovered.

Cultural context

The Margherita is a benchmark of Neapolitan pizza: a simple topping makes dough fermentation, heat and ingredient quality easy to taste.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Margherita pizza — Photograph by Akahito Yamabe; CC0 1.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Italian recipes

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients

Method

Mix and knead

Ferment and divide

Heat the oven and prepare topping

Stretch and top

Bake very hot

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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