Oven-Baked Margherita Pizza
Pasta and Pizza | Italian cuisine
⏳ Time
1 hour + 1 day
🥕 Ingredients
9
🍽️ Servings
12
Description
This quantity of ingredients will yield 6 pizzas with a diameter of 12 inches.
Ingredients
- Wheat Flour - 2 lbs
- Water - 20 fl oz
- Salt - 1 tablespoon
- Dry yeast - 0.2 oz
- Olive Oil - 4 fl oz
- Melted Cheese - 21.2 oz
- Pizza Flour - 20 fl oz
- Fresh basil leaves - to taste
- Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Step by Step guide
Step 1
Dissolve the yeast in very cold water for the dough.
Step 2
Gradually add the flour to the water and knead the dough.
Step 3
Add salt and 10 ml of olive oil, and knead the dough for 15 minutes. You can do this either by hand or using a mixer with a dough hook attachment (the latter will be quicker). The dough should be soft, stick to your hands, but bounce back when pressed.
Step 4
Dust your hands with flour, shape the dough into a ball, and place it in a well-floured bowl (to prevent sticking). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Step 5
Remove the dough, knead it, and divide it into six pieces. Roll each piece back into a ball, place them on a floured baking sheet, and either refrigerate for about 6 hours or leave at room temperature for 1.5 hours.
Step 6
Prepare the filling. Add olive oil to the canned tomato sauce, then season with salt and pepper.
Step 7
Place the mozzarella on a sieve to drain excess liquid. Then, cut it into large slices.
Step 8
Before baking the pizza, place an inverted baking tray in the oven. Set the oven to the maximum power — if your oven does not support temperatures below 518°F, you will need to turn on the convection setting while baking the pizza. Prepare the pizza: place the ball of dough on a floured board. Flatten it into a disc, then shape the crust by hand, starting from the center: the edges should be thick while the center remains thin.
Step 9
Gently stretch the dough with your palms, moving from the center outward, until it reaches a diameter of 30 cm.
Step 10
Carefully transfer the crust to a pizza peel or any flat surface where you can later place the pizza into the oven.
Step 11
Spread tomato sauce over the surface of the dough, then top with torn or coarsely chopped mozzarella and a few basil leaves.
Step 12
Carefully transfer the pizza to the hot baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 3–5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough and the power of the oven.
Step 13
When the sauce on the pizza thickens, the mozzarella slightly melts, and the crust turns a deep golden brown, take the pizza out of the oven. Serve immediately.
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