Sus Hive Recipe Library

Wood-Fired Michelin-Grade Margherita Pizza

Chef/operator production sheet for Wood-Fired Michelin-Grade Margherita Pizza. Use this page for station prep, service setup, holding decisions, and catering execution. Fine-dining Neapolitan-style pizza for a wood-fired oven with long-fermented 00 dough, restrained San Marzano-style tomato, drained mozzarella, basil, and olive oil.

HotChef/Operator Production SheetUC Option A

Wood-Fired Michelin-Grade Margherita Pizza

Minimal pizza, maximum discipline: fermented dough, restrained sauce, pristine cheese, basil, and fire management.

Yield: 4 x 10–12 in pizzas
Active: 45–60 min
Total: 24–48 h with cold ferment
Equipment: wood-fired pizza oven, peel, turning peel, scale
Prep lead: confirm from method
Service: station-ready / catering-ready

Ingredients

Long-fermented 00 dough
  • 600 g Italian 00 pizza flour, plus extra for shaping
  • 390 g cool water (65% hydration)
  • 18 g fine sea salt
  • 1.2 g instant yeast (about 1/3 tsp) for 24 h ferment; use 0.6 g for 48 h
  • Fine semolina or 00 flour blend, for peel dusting
Tomato base
  • 400 g whole peeled San Marzano-style tomatoes, crushed by hand
  • 5 g fine sea salt, or to taste
  • 6–8 fresh basil stems or 1 small basil leaf, steeped 10 min then removed
  • 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Toppings + finish
  • 320–360 g buffalo mozzarella or excellent fior di latte, torn and drained overnight
  • 24–32 small basil leaves
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, preferably peppery and fresh
  • Flaky sea salt, optional micro-finish

Prep / Cook Method

  1. Mix dough: Dissolve yeast in water. Add flour and mix until shaggy. Rest 20 minutes, add salt, then knead 3–5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  2. Ferment: Cover 60 minutes at room temperature. Divide into 4 dough balls of about 252 g each. Oil containers lightly, cover, and cold-ferment 24–48 hours.
  3. Temper: Pull dough 2–3 hours before service. Dough should feel relaxed, airy, and extensible, not cold and tight.
  4. Build sauce: Crush tomatoes by hand; season with salt, olive oil, and basil aroma. Keep raw, bright, and loose. Do not cook it.
  5. Fire the oven: Heat wood-fired oven until the floor holds about 700–750°F and dome air is about 750–850°F. Maintain a live side flame, not aggressive smoke.
  6. Shape: Open one dough ball from the center outward, preserving the rim. Stretch to 10–12 inches. Keep the center thin and the cornicione inflated.
  7. Top lightly: Use 60–70 g tomato, 80–90 g drained cheese, a few basil leaves, and a thin olive-oil stream. Less topping creates the luxury texture.
  8. Bake: Launch immediately. Bake 75–110 seconds, turning every 15–20 seconds. Pull when the rim has leopard spots, the base is set, and the cheese is just melted.

Finish + Service

  • Michelin finish: Add 2–3 fresh basil leaves, a final thread of olive oil, and one restrained pinch of flaky salt only if the cheese needs lift.
  • Texture target: Puffy blistered rim, tender foldable center, tomato brightness, creamy dairy, no heavy sauce pool.
  • Service window: Serve immediately. For events, fire to order; pizza declines fast after 3–4 minutes.
  • QC correction: If bottom burns before top melts, cool the floor with a damp brush pass or move the pie farther from the flame. If pale, rebuild the side flame and wait.

Source + Production Notes

  • Primary source basis: King Arthur Baking, “Neapolitan-Style Pizza Crust” — selected for reliable 00 flour weights, overnight fermentation, and tested pizza-crust handling.
  • Technique basis: Traditional Neapolitan wood-fired execution standards: high dome heat, hot floor, brief bake, minimal toppings, and active turning.
  • UC adjustment: This is a UC production draft upgraded for wood-fired service and fine-dining finish; it is not copied verbatim from the source.

Holding / Reheat / Catering Notes

  • Hot-hold only if the item protects texture and food safety.
  • Keep sauces/garnishes separate when texture matters.
  • Confirm final internal temperature and service window before dispatch.
  • For off-site catering, pack garnish/sauce components separately when quality improves service.

Scaling Notes

  • Scale ingredient quantities proportionally unless the chef adjusts seasoning, acid, spice, or thickening by taste.
  • For large catering batches, produce a small test batch or chef-taste checkpoint before full run when time allows.
  • Record final batch yield after production so the recipe can be tightened on the next cleanup pass.