Margherita

The reference pizza. Simple ingredients, slow dough, very hot oven. Nothing to hide behind.

This recipe makes four 280g pizza balls for a 24 to 48-hour cold ferment. Scale quantities as needed. The time listed includes the cold fermentation.

The Dough

1. Dissolve the yeast in all the water. It does not need to foam — fresh yeast dissolves immediately.
2. Add 80% of the flour and mix until no dry flour remains. Rest for 30 minutes (autolyse).
3. Add the salt dissolved in a tablespoon of the remaining water. Mix well.
4. Gradually incorporate the remaining flour, mixing until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl sides.
5. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 8 minutes, or mix in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 8 minutes on low. The dough should be smooth, slightly tacky, and pass the windowpane test.
6. Cover and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
7. Divide into four balls of roughly 280g each. Shape each into a tight ball by folding the edges underneath and rolling on the surface until smooth.
8. Place in a lightly oiled airtight container, cover, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

The Sauce

Drain the tomatoes briefly. Crush them by hand into a bowl, discarding any tough cores. Season with a pinch of salt. Do not cook. The sauce is raw.

Before Baking

Remove the dough balls from the fridge 1.5 to 2 hours before baking. They should come to room temperature and feel soft and extensible before you attempt to stretch them.

If using a dedicated pizza oven (Gozney, Ooni), preheat to 430 to 460°C, measuring deck temperature with an infrared thermometer. If using a home oven, set to maximum and preheat with a baking steel or stone inside for 45 minutes.

Stretching and Topping

1. Dust a clean surface lightly with semolina or flour.
2. Place a dough ball on the surface and press firmly with your fingers from the centre outward, leaving a 2 to 3cm border for the cornicione.
3. Lift the disc over your knuckles and stretch gently, rotating slowly. The centre should reach 3 to 4mm thickness across a disc of 28 to 32cm.
4. Lay the stretched disc on a semolina-dusted peel.
5. Spread 60 to 70g of crushed tomato across the surface, leaving the border clear.
6. Tear 80 to 90g of drained fior di latte over the sauce in irregular pieces.

Baking

High-heat oven (430 to 460°C). Load immediately and bake for 60 to 90 seconds, rotating every 20 seconds. Pull when the cornicione is leoparded and the cheese is bubbling with a few char spots.

Home oven (250 to 280°C). Load and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating once halfway through. The cornicione will not leopard but should be golden-brown with some dark patches.

Finishing

Remove and drape fresh basil leaves over the pizza immediately. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve whole or cut into four slices.

Method

The reference pizza demands three things: a long cold-fermentation to develop flavour and extensibility, dough hydrated high enough to bubble aggressively, and an oven hot enough that the base sets before the toppings overcook. Nothing masks technique here.

Mix the yeast into all the cold water — fresh yeast dissolves instantly, no foam required. Add 80% of the flour and mix until no dry flour remains. Rest for 30 minutes; this pizza-dough-hydration autolyse allows the flour to fully hydrate and gluten to begin forming without salt, which would tighten the dough too early. Dissolve the salt in a tablespoon of water and work it in, then gradually incorporate the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and pulls cleanly from the bowl. Knead on a floured surface for 5 to 8 minutes — or 8 minutes on low in a stand mixer — until it passes the windowpane test: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light without tearing. The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky. Rest 30 minutes at room temperature, then divide into four 280g balls. Shape each by folding the edges underneath and rolling on the work surface until the surface is taut. Place in an oiled airtight container and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. The cold slows fermentation, allowing the yeast and bacteria to develop complex sugars and acids that build flavour and open the crumb structure.

For the sauce: drain the tinned tomatoes briefly, crush by hand into a bowl, and discard any fibrous cores. Season with salt only. Raw sauce preserves the acid and bright tomato character that cooking would dull.

Two hours before baking, remove the dough from the fridge. It should feel soft and extensible, not cold and stiff. On a semolina-dusted surface, press each ball from the centre outward, leaving a 2 to 3cm border for the cornicione. Lift over your knuckles and stretch gently, rotating slowly, until the disc reaches 28 to 32cm across with a 3 to 4mm centre. Transfer to a semolina-dusted peel.

Spread 60 to 70g of crushed tomato across the surface, leaving the border bare. Tear 80 to 90g of fior di latte into irregular pieces and scatter over the sauce. In a dedicated pizza oven at 430 to 460°C, load immediately and rotate every 20 seconds for 60 to 90 seconds until the cornicione leopards and the cheese bubbles with light char. In a home oven at maximum heat with a preheated steel or stone, bake for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating once halfway, until the cornicione is golden with dark patches. Top immediately with fresh basil leaves and a light drizzle of olive oil. Serve whole.