Margherita Classica Pizza

Why this formula works

The quantities deliberately keep free water low: 80 g tomato and 80 g drained cheese are enough for a 28–30 cm base. The dough can rise rather than steam under a heavy topping, while basil and olive oil stay aromatic.

Honest timing

Ingredients

• mature original Neapolitan dough ball250 g (8.8 oz)
• peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand80 g (2.82 oz)
• fine sea salt, adjust to the tomatoes1 g
• well-drained fior di latte80 g (2.82 oz)
• fresh basil leaves5
• extra virgin olive oil5 g (0.18 oz)

Equipment

• pizza stone or steel and peel
• or a pizza oven
• small sieve
• infrared thermometer if available

Exact method

1. 1. Put the stone or steel in the upper half of the home oven and preheat at maximum heat for at least 45 minutes. For a pizza oven, stabilize the floor around 430–450°C / 806–842°F.
2. 2. Crush the tomatoes by hand, stir in the salt and drain off watery liquid for 5 minutes. Do not cook the sauce.
3. 3. Cut or tear the mozzarella into 1–2 cm pieces. Drain in a sieve for at least 20 minutes, then blot the surface dry.
4. 4. Flour the peel sparingly. Open the dough from the center outward to 28–30 cm, keeping a 1–2 cm rim full of gas; check that it still slides before topping.
5. 5. Spread the tomato in a thin spiral to just inside the rim. Distribute the mozzarella with gaps between the pieces and add three basil leaves.
6. 6. Launch immediately. In a pizza oven, bake 60–90 seconds and turn every 20–30 seconds. On a fully heated steel at 250–300°C / 482–572°F, bake about 5–8 minutes and use the broiler for the final 1–2 minutes if the base is done first.
7. 7. Remove when the rim is inflated and spotted, the underside is dry and the cheese has melted without flooding the center. Add the remaining basil and olive oil; rest 60 seconds before slicing.