Pizza Margherita
Pizza Margherita
Tomato, mozzarella, basil — a Neapolitan idea you can bake hot on a home stone or a screaming tray.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Pizza Margherita.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 8 hr 42 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Margherita is the pizza that is supposed to look like the Italian flag and mostly looks like a good tomato pie. The dough wants a long ferment. The oven wants to be hotter than your home oven will go. We write an honest home version: 250°C, a preheated tray, not too much topping.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour300 g
- Water200 ml
- Yeast2 g
- Salt6 g
- Tomato, crushed, drained a little200 g
- Mozzarella150 g
- Basil8 leaf
- Olive oil15 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix dough. Knead until smooth. Cold-rise 8–24 hours, or a warmer 2-hour rise if that is your day.
15 minStep 2
Heat a tray or stone at 250°C. Stretch two bases. Thin tomato, torn mozzarella, oil. Bake 8–12 minutes until the rim blisters.
12 minStep 3
Basil after the oven so it does not blacken.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 24 August.
Substitutions
Mozzarella → A drier melting cheese
Wet fior di latte pools. Pat it dry.
Tips
- 00 flour is nicer. Strong bread flour still makes dinner.
- Less topping is how the centre cooks.
History & culture
Naples. The rest of the world made it a brand. A home pizza is still pizza if the dough is alive and the tomato tastes of tomato.
The 1889 queen story is marketing. Tomato-and-cheese flatbread in Naples is older and messier than a single invention date.
Regional variation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: ノボホショコロトソ via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pizza%20Margherita%20%E3%83%94%E3%82%B6%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B2%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF.jpg
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Pizza Margherita take?
8 hr 42 min all in — 30 min prep, 12 min cook, 8 hr rest. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 2 pizzas. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 6 g.
What can I use instead?
Mozzarella → A drier melting cheese. Wet fior di latte pools. Pat it dry.
Any tips from this recipe?
00 flour is nicer. Strong bread flour still makes dinner. Less topping is how the centre cooks.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Focaccia
Focaccia
Olive-oil bread with a dimpled top — Ligurian if you are strict, a very good tray if you are hungry.
2 hr 50 minMediumNo chilli
Carbonara
Carbonara
Roman pasta of guanciale, egg, pecorino and pepper — no cream, no peas, no debate in this house except the usual one.
30 minMediumNo chilli
Quesadilla
Quesadilla
A tortilla folded on cheese on a hot comal — Mexico City may put no cheese in some, but this one does.
13 minVery easyNo chilli