Classic Margherita
The original pizza — San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and a perfectly charred Neapolitan crust.
Recipe by Priya Patel · Published · Updated
Margherita is the recipe that exposes every shortcut. There's nothing to hide behind — no pepperoni grease, no four cheeses melting into each other. Just dough, San Marzano, mozzarella, basil. We've made this maybe 400 times across home ovens, a propane Ooni, and a wood-fired Roccbox. The biggest single jump in quality didn't come from better tomatoes or better flour — it came from learning to handle the dough so gently that the cornicione stayed full of air all the way to the oven. Underwork it. Trust the ferment.
Ingredients
Dough
- •4 balls Neapolitan pizza dough — Use our calculator
Sauce
- •400g (1 can) San Marzano tomatoes (whole, canned)
- •1/2 tsp Salt
- •4-5 leaves Fresh basil leaves
Toppings
- •250g Fresh mozzarella (fior di latte) — Drained and torn
- •drizzle Extra virgin olive oil
- •handful Fresh basil — Added after baking
Instructions
- 1
Crush San Marzano tomatoes by hand into a bowl. Add salt and torn basil. Do not cook the sauce.
💡 Hand-crushed is better than blended — you want texture, not baby food.
- 2
Preheat your pizza oven to 900-950°F or home oven to max with a baking steel on the top rack.
💡 Preheat for 45-60 min minimum in a home oven.
- 3
Stretch your dough into a 12" round, leaving a puffy rim (cornicione).
💡 Never use a rolling pin — it kills the air bubbles.
- 4
Spread 2-3 tablespoons of sauce in a spiral from center outward, leaving 1" border.
- 5
Tear mozzarella into pieces and distribute evenly. Drizzle with olive oil.
- 6
Launch onto the stone/steel and bake. Pizza oven: 60-90 seconds, rotating every 20s. Home oven: 5-7 minutes, broiler for last 2 min.
- 7
Remove, add fresh basil leaves, slice and serve immediately.
Tips
- →Use real San Marzano DOP tomatoes — they're sweeter and less acidic
- →Drain mozzarella for 15 min on paper towels to prevent soggy pizza
- →Add basil AFTER baking — it turns black in the oven
- →Less is more — 2-3 tablespoons of sauce for a 12" pizza
Equipment
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