# Margherita Pizza

A chewy, blistered crust with bright no-cook tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, made from scratch in an afternoon.

- Total time: 2 hr 29 min (one cook, steps overlapped; 4 hr 1 min if done strictly in order)
- Hands-on time: 35 min
- Serves: 2 (two 12 inch pizzas)
- Method: Pizza steel or stone (also available: Sheet pan)
- Difficulty: medium
- Source: https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com/r/margherita-pizza

## Ingredients

### Pizza

- 2 tbsp semolina, for the peel. Substitutes: all-purpose flour (Works, but the pizza slides off the peel less freely)
- 12 fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

### Dough

- 300 g bread flour. Substitutes: all-purpose flour (Softer, less chewy crust, and a slightly stickier dough); 00 flour (Silky dough, but it browns less in a home oven)
- 1 tsp instant yeast. Substitutes: active dry yeast (Stir it into the warm water first. The rise may take 15 minutes longer)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 195 ml warm water, about 100°F
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp olive oil, for the bowl

### Tomato sauce

- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, 14 oz. Substitutes: San Marzano tomatoes (Sweeter and less acidic); crushed tomatoes (No crushing needed, a little less fresh tasting)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated (optional)

### Mozzarella

- 8 oz fresh mozzarella. Substitutes: low-moisture mozzarella (Browns more and won't weep, so you can skip draining)

## Steps (in the fastest order for one cook)

1. [0:00] **Mix** (Dough): Stir 300 g bread flour, 1 tsp instant yeast and 1 tsp fine sea salt in a large bowl. Add 195 ml warm water and 1 tbsp olive oil and mix into a shaggy dough. _(4 min, hands-on, critical path)_
2. [0:04] **Knead** (Dough): Knead the dough on a clean counter until smooth and springy. Set it in a bowl greased with 1 tsp olive oil and cover. _(8 min, hands-on, critical path)_
3. [0:12] **Rise** (Dough): Let the dough rise somewhere warm until doubled. _(1 hr 30 min, hands-off, critical path)_
4. [0:12] **Tear** (Mozzarella): Tear 8 oz fresh mozzarella into 1 inch pieces and spread them on a paper towel lined plate. _(2 min, hands-on)_
5. [0:14] **Crush** (Tomato sauce): Drain 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, then crush them by hand or pulse a few times in a blender. _(3 min, hands-on)_
6. [0:14] **Drain** (Mozzarella): Let the mozzarella drain in the fridge until you top the pizzas. _(20 min, hands-off, optional)_
   - Why: Fresh mozzarella holds water that would pool on the pizza as it bakes.
7. [0:17] **Season** (Tomato sauce): Stir in 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 clove garlic. _(1 min, hands-on)_
8. [1:11] **Preheat** (Pizza): Set the steel or stone on the upper middle rack and heat the oven as hot as it goes. _(1 hr, hands-off, 500 to 550°F, critical path)_
   - Why: A steel needs a full hour to store enough heat to crisp the base.
9. [1:42] **Divide** (Dough): Divide the dough in half, shape each piece into a tight ball, and cover with a towel. _(3 min, hands-on, critical path)_
10. [1:45] **Rest** (Dough): Let the balls rest until soft and relaxed. _(20 min, hands-off, critical path)_
   - Why: Relaxed dough stretches thin without springing back.
11. [2:05] **Shape** (Pizza): Stretch one ball into a 12 inch round with a slightly thicker rim and lay it on a peel dusted with semolina. _(4 min, hands-on, critical path)_
12. [2:09] **Top** (Pizza): Spread half the sauce over the dough, leaving the rim bare, and scatter over half the mozzarella. _(2 min, hands-on, critical path)_
13. [2:11] **Bake** (Pizza): Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling. _(8 min, hands-off, 500 to 550°F, critical path)_
   - At 4 min in: Rotate the pizza
14. [2:11] **Shape** (Pizza): Stretch the second ball the same way and lay it on the peel, dusted again. _(4 min, hands-on)_
15. [2:15] **Top** (Pizza): Top it with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella. _(2 min, hands-on)_
16. [2:19] **Bake** (Pizza): Bake the second pizza on the steel the same way. _(8 min, hands-off, 500 to 550°F, critical path)_
   - At 4 min in: Rotate the pizza
17. [2:27] **Serve** (Pizza): Scatter 12 fresh basil leaves over the pizzas, drizzle with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, then slice and serve. _(2 min, hands-on, critical path)_

## Graph

Each step lists the steps that must finish before it starts.

- preheat-steel (can start immediately)
- mix-dough (can start immediately)
- knead after mix-dough
- rise after knead
- divide after rise
- rest-balls after divide
- crush (can start immediately)
- season-sauce after crush
- tear (can start immediately)
- drain after tear
- shape-1 after rest-balls
- top-1 after shape-1, season-sauce, drain
- bake-1-steel after top-1, preheat-steel
- shape-2 after top-1
- top-2 after shape-2
- bake-2-steel after top-2, bake-1-steel
- serve after bake-2-steel

## Notes

- The schedule starts the oven early. For less wasted heat, turn it on when the dough is about halfway through its rise.
- No peel? Build each pizza on parchment, slide it into the oven, and pull the paper out after 2 minutes.
- Go light on sauce and cheese. Too much of either is the usual cause of a soggy center.

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Recipe graph by Dagwood (https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com). Licensed CC BY 4.0. JSON graph: https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com/r/margherita-pizza.json