Italian
Margherita Pizza
Tomato, mozzarella, basil - the red, white and green of the Italian flag. A hot domestic oven and an overnight dough get you most of the way to a pizzeria base.
- Time
- 30 mins + proving
- Serves
- 4
- Steps
- 7
- Ingredients
- 8
Method
- 01
Mix the flour, water, salt and yeast into a shaggy dough, then knead 10 minutes until smooth.
- 02
Prove at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate overnight. The slow cold prove is what builds the flavour.
- 03
Divide into 4 balls and leave them covered at room temperature for 2 hours before baking.
- 04
Crush the tomatoes by hand with a pinch of salt. Do not cook them - they cook on the pizza.
- 05
Heat the oven as hot as it goes with a baking steel or upturned tray inside for at least 45 minutes.
- 06
Stretch a ball by hand, leaving the rim untouched, and top with a thin layer of tomato and the torn mozzarella.
- 07
Bake 6 to 8 minutes until the crust is blistered. Add basil and olive oil as it comes out, not before.
