Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Margherita Recipe
When it comes to making homemade pizza Margherita, you want a quick and easy recipe to enjoy with your hungry family! This week, Foodie Sisters in Italy, Benedetta and Valeria, invited a very, very special guest … Local Aromas’ superchef Carla! Watch the video and follow her instructions to make the most supremely delicious homemade pizza in the real Italian way. Then join the Local Aromas Family community for more content and recipes from Italy!
The creation of Margherita pizza can be dated back to 1889 when King Umberto I of Italy traveled to Naples with his wife Queen Margherita of Savoy. At the time pizza was only found in the area of Naples so the royal couple was invited to sample this local delicacy prepared by pizza chef Raffaele Esposito. For the occasion, he invented a new version named for the queen and topped with tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves to represent the colors of the new ‘tricolore’ flag of the unification.
With its symbolic, patriotic colors and quintessential Italian flavors, the sight, smell, and taste of pizza Margherita can immediately transport your senses to Italy, so learning to make it in your own home is a great way to take a virtual vacation. Pizza originally hails from Naples so who better to teach us to make it than our chef Carla who comes from the same region and is a dab hand at teaching our guests to make perfect pizzas at Local Aromas cooking classes.
Although it might seem complicated, making pizza is actually easier than you think. You do need to plan ahead as the dough will need around two hours to prove but once it has risen you can be eating piping hot pizza in just 15 minutes. Aside from the satisfaction of making something delicious, the joy of making pizza yourself is that you can make it exactly the way you like; thin or thick base, crunchy or soft crust, and your own choice of toppings.
Pizza Margherita Recipe
For the dough
500 g (17.6 oz) soft-wheat flour, 0-type
7 g (0.3 oz) dry active yeast
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
300 ml (10.1 oz) water
extra virgin olive oil
For the topping
tomato passata
fresh mozzarella, chopped
parmigiano, grated
fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the yeast and sugar (the sugar helps to activate the yeast and will give the dough a golden color). Pour in the oil and the water. Mix the ingredients and finally add some salt.
Squeeze and roll the ingredients with your hands until the dough comes together and leaves the sides of the bowl clean. Tip the dough onto a work surface and start to knead well with the heel of your hand. Slam the dough heavily onto the surface a few times to help break down the gluten. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a bowl greased with a little olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth and leave it to rise for about 2 hours until it has doubled in size.
Turn the oven on to the highest temperature, at least 250°C (482°F). Grease a metal tin or baking sheet with olive oil. Use your fingertips to spread the dough in the tin, starting from the center and gradually pushing out towards the edges.
Season the tomato passata with a little salt and some extra virgin olive oil. Spoon the passata over the base of the pizza, leaving about a finger-width of space around the edge. Put the pizza into the oven on the lowest shelf and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the mozzarella, a good grating of parmigiano, and a few basil leaves. Put the pizza back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes until the crust turns golden and the cheese has melted.
Remove the pizza from the oven and top with some more grated parmigiano and a few more fresh basil leaves before cutting into slices and serving hot.
Buon Appetito! 😍
