Homemade Pizza Margherita
Makes 2 Pizzas
Ingredients
- For Pizza Dough:
- 2 Balls store-bought pizza dough
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting
- For the Sauce:
- 2 Small garlic cloves
- 30 Ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes or high quality organic canned tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon dried oregano
- Scant 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- For Toppings:
- ½ to ⅔ Cup pizza sauce
- 1 ½ Cups shredded cheese or 4 to 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- A few fresh basil leaves
Shopping List
- Pizza dough
- Semolina flour
- Garlic
- Organic canned tomatoes
- Dried oregano
- Pizza sauce
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Basil
Instructions
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°.
- Cut the garlic into a few rough pieces. Place the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until fully combined.
- If using fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it into ¼ inch thick pieces. If it’s incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you may want to let it sit on a paper towel to remove moisture for about 15 minutes then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove any additional moisture.
- When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel (what giant spatula that can hold an entire pizza) with cornmeal or semolina flour. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. Stretch the dough into a circle. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about ¼ to ⅓ cup. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil on top (whole leaves, slightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.