Tips on How to make your Pizza Margherita at home
My favorite pizza…hands down..is the Pizza Margherita.
What exactly is Pizza Margherita?
A quick Google result reveals that “Pizza Margherita is a typical Neapolitan pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella fior di latte, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil.”
Can I make it at home?
Sure! Pizza Margherita is only comprised of 5 main ingredients: Tomatoes, Cheese, Basil, Salt & Oil. Follow the steps below for some delicious pizza right in your very own kitchen.
Tips on How to make your Pizza Margherita at home:
#1: Prepare your dough.
This could be homemade, from a local pizzeria/bakery, or from the frozen aisle. If you are using a round pizza pan, simply roll your dough into a round circle. If you don’t have a pizza pan, you can use any rectangular baking sheet that you have. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly round or square as pizza comes in all shapes and sizes.
You can use a rolling pin or use your hands to flatten the dough into any shape that fits into your pan.
For a thin and crispy crust, I recommend flattening the dough to ⅛”-¼” of an inch.
#2: Preheat Your Oven
For pizzas, my oven is always above 450 F degrees. I turn it up to 475 F degrees whenever I want a crispier crust.
#3: Choose your tomato sauce
Whether you have fresh tomatoes, leftover marinara sauce, or pantry tomato sauce, you can never go wrong. I like to use a small can of tomato paste and add water, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder. This way, I can easily craft my own tomato sauce to my desired taste.
Start with half a ladle spoon and add sauce beginning from the center of the dough. My family never liked tomato sauce in the first place so I went light on their pies. Be sure to leave an inch of dough from the outer edges for your crust.
It is recommended to have a thin layer of sauce. If you need more, you can always dip your pizza into marinara.
#4: Add Cheese
While shredded mozzarella from the dairy section of your grocery story is perfect, try adding fresh mozzarella on your pizza for a new cheesy taste. It is up to you to decide how much cheese you want to add. Start layering on the cheese. It’s perfectly fine if you can see the sauce. It’s also normal to have extra cheese.
Recommended Cheese:
#5: Bake your pizza
Be careful of the hot oven. Carefully slide your pizza pan into the heat. Let it cook for 8–10 minutes and begin to check on your pizza. The cheese will boil and the crust will be brown. For those of you who don’t like burnt pizza, be sure to keep a close eye on your creation.
Note: Cooking times may vary as it depends on the size of your pizza. A 16” round pan thin crust pizza will take approximately 10–12 minutes in my 475 F degrees oven.
#6: Add Basil, Salt & Pepper, and Oil to Taste
You MUST add fresh basil once you pull your pizza out of the oven. It adds a tremendous amount of flavor. Drizzle salt, pepper, and oil to taste. Sometimes I skip the extra seasoning and only go for the basil.
#7: Slice your Pie
Unless you made a personal pizza, use a knife or pizza cutter to slice and enjoy!
