Crispy Margherita Pizza

Votes: 2

Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 8

A crisp, golden crust topped with a fragrant tomato topping and melted mozzarella—that's pizza Margherita at its finest! Bake a Margherita with homemade dough and enjoy the vibrant flavor of the easiest pizza to make. You can make the dough according to the recipe ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. And if you need a quick snack, you can whip up a favorite. The Margherita sauce is also easy: simply puree canned tomatoes with spices and olive oil and spread on the dough.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Topping

1 can (400g) canned whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + extra for greasing
1 clove of garlic, grated
1/4 - 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
170 g fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Dough

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + extra for greasing the bowl
3 cups of premium flour + extra for work

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: yeast dough, pureed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, red pepper flakes

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Knead the dough for 2 pizzas:

Combine the yeast, 1 cup warm water (about 100°F/38°C), and sugar in a food processor and pulse once. Let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with 2 teaspoons of salt; add to the food processor and pulse until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and gathers around the blade.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into 2 even balls. Transfer to two lightly oiled bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 2-4 hours. The dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months. Bring the dough to room temperature before using.

Place a pizza stone or large, upside-down baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 260°C.
Meanwhile, prepare the topping.:

Combine tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl.

On a lightly floured pizza peel or other inverted baking sheet, stretch one ball of dough into a 12-inch (30-cm) circle. Spread about 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture on top, leaving a 1/2-inch (1-cm) border. Top with half the mozzarella and lightly brush the edges of the dough with olive oil.
Place the pizza on the hot stone or baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and let cool for 3 minutes before slicing. Repeat to make the second pizza.