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Easy Pizza Margherita Recipe

How to make an easy, authentic pizza Margherita at home, from scratch with just a few simple ingredients and a pizza stone. Anyone can make this, I promise!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 people
Author Florentina

Ingredients

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

  • 5 cups all purpose flour + more as needed
  • 1.5 tsp active dry yeast ( make sure it is not expired and has been kept in a cool dark place)
  • 1.5 tsp sea salt
  • 2 1/4 cups COLD water + more If needed

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven with a pizza stone inside to 500”F or as high as it will go. 
  • Add all the dough ingredients to the bowl of a mixer with a hook attachment. Knead on low speed for about 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and only a tiny bit sticky to the bottom of the bowl. If too sticky then sprinkle in a little more flour. ( Watch VIDEO here)
  • Transfer to a cutting board and using a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 pieces. Form each piece into small round balls and place them on a very lightly oiled baking sheet at least 3 inches apart from each other.
  • Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
  • Sprinkle the counter with a little bit of flour, take one piece of dough and press down on it with your fingers until you have 1/2" thick circle or oval. Using your fists and knuckles start stretching the dough until 10" in diameter making sure not to tear it ( this should be easy since we are making small pies).
  • Place the pie on a pizza peel or a piece of cardboard and transfer it to the preheated pizza stone ( sprinkle a little bit of flour or corn meal on the stone just before). Bake for 2 to 3 minutes then take it out of the oven.
  • Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the Marinara sauce in the middle of the pie and gently spread it around into a thin layer leaving about 1/3 inch sides.
  • Tear some of the Mozzarella di Bufala cheese on top and transfer the pie back into the oven for another 4 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
  • Meanwhile preheat your broiler and as soon as you remove the pizza from the oven you pop it under the broiler flames for about 30 seconds or so. Keep a close eye on it so you don’t completely burn it. 
  • Transfer to a cutting board and allow it to sit for a few minutes for the cheese to set. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with fresh basil and enjoy.
  • Repeat the process with the remaining pies or refrigerate for later.