Margherita Pizza

Classic tomato, mozzarella, basil. Written for a home oven with steel/stone and optional broiler finish.

Yield: 1 x 12–13 in pizza (2–4 servings)

Active: ~25–35 min

Total: 2 h (fast dough) or 8–24 h (cold ferment)

Equipment: pizza steel/stone recommended

Dough (fast option, 1 pizza)

300 g bread flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
7 g salt (about 1 1/4 tsp fine salt)
2 g instant yeast (about 3/4 tsp)
200 g warm water (about 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp)
10 g olive oil (2 tsp), optional but helps home-oven browning

Tomato base

Topping

Heat prep (steel/stone): Put a pizza steel/stone on the top 1/3 rack. Preheat oven to its max (500–550°F) for at least 45 minutes.
Make dough: Mix flour, salt, and yeast. Add water (and optional oil) and mix until no dry flour remains. Rest 10 minutes, then knead 2–3 minutes until smoother.
Rise: Cover and let rise at warm room temp until doubled, 60–90 minutes (longer if cool kitchen).
Make tomato base: Crush tomatoes. Stir in salt and olive oil (and optional garlic). Keep it loose, not a cooked sauce.
Shape: Dust counter with flour/semolina. Press dough into a round leaving a thicker rim. Stretch to 12–13 inches. Avoid rolling pin if possible.
Top: Spread a thin layer of tomato (less than you think). Add mozzarella (well-drained). Drizzle a little olive oil.
Bake: Launch onto steel/stone. Bake 6–10 minutes until rim is blistered and cheese has browned spots. If needed, finish 30–90 seconds under broiler for char (watch closely).

Basil: Add basil right after bake (or last 60 seconds) so it stays fragrant.
Slice service: Rest 2 minutes, slice. For later service, re-crisp slices on a hot pan or in a 450°F oven 3–5 minutes.
QC notes: If center is soupy, use less sauce and dry mozzarella harder (or switch to low-moisture mozz for volume service).