- traditional italian pizza, perhaps the most popular in the world, even the menu of any pizzeria, as a rule, begins with it. The composition of this pizza is unusually simple, its main ingredients are mozzarella cheese, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, which give it a unique taste and aroma.

According to legend, the pizza owes its name to Margherita of Savoy, the wife of the Italian king Umberto I, who fell in love with this pizza very much.

For the preparation of the classic, most delicious pizza Margherita you need very few ingredients, but they must be exactly those that are listed. Those. Of course, you can replace mozzarella with another cheese, but then you will not be able to pizza margherita but just some pizza. Therefore, strictly follow the recipe and, I hope, pizza margherita won't disappoint you.

Ingredients

• Pizza dough 270 - 300 g
• tomato sauce 100 - 130 g
• Mozzarella cheese for pizza 150 - 180 g
• tomatoes 1 PC.
• green basil 8-10 leaves
• olive oil

Tomato sauce. I cook it according to this recipe:. If you don't have fresh or canned tomatoes, or are too lazy to cook, you can use tomato paste (salt it, add spices) or even ketchup, but I still prefer tomato sauce. If you use tomato paste or ketchup, they are more concentrated, so reduce their amount, 2-3 tablespoons will be enough for you.

Mozzarella cheese we need it for pizza. This is not the mozzarella that is sold in the form of white balls in bags in brine, we need mozzarella that looks like regular cheese. Pizza mozzarella is a hard type of mozzarella cheese used for hot dishes.

Cooking

We prepare the ingredients. Wash and dry the tomatoes and basil. If you were too lazy to read a lot of words at the beginning, I repeat, pizza dough here:, sauce here:.

Pizza dough roll out with a thickness of 2-3 mm, with a diameter of 32-35 cm. I usually roll out on parchment sprinkled with flour, and bake pizza on it, so the cake does not deform when transferred to a baking sheet. In order to get beautiful pizza sides, we bend the edges 2-3 cm inward and close them well so that they do not come off during baking. We put tomato sauce on the rolled out base, let it be more, especially if you use not ketchup or tomato paste, but tomato sauce.

Spread the sauce evenly over the dough, drizzle with olive oil on top.

Now we need to bake the cake, we do this in order to make the dough crispy and well baked. Together with parchment, transfer the dough to a baking sheet, if the parchment is very large, cut it off so that it does not touch the walls of the oven. I bake pizza on a baking sheet turned upside down, so it turns out a flat plane without walls. We heat the oven to the maximum temperature (250-270 ° C), put the inverted baking sheet with the dough on the lower level and bake for 5-10 minutes, until it is well browned on the bottom.

While the cake is baking, cut the mozzarella into plates 5-10 mm thick.

Cut the tomato into 3-5 mm slices.

Well, the dough is well browned on the bottom, the sides of the pizza have risen. I also browned the parchment very well, because I told you to cut it, but I didn’t do it myself. We tear off pieces from the chopped slices of cheese and randomly lay them out on a hot base.

Place chopped tomatoes on top.

Tear large basil leaves in half or smaller, lay out on top of pizza, put small leaves whole. Again we send our pizza to the oven preheated to the maximum temperature for 5-10 minutes, now we put the baking sheet on the upper level. The pizza is ready when the cheese is completely melted and spread over the entire surface of the pizza.

Serve the pizza immediately while it is hot. Top with fresh basil leaves. ready. Bon Appetit!

Alexander Gushchin

I can't vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

It is believed that real Margarita pizza can only be prepared in Italy, using local varieties of flour, cheese and tomatoes. However, this dish has become so popular because it is prepared in various parts of the world. Cooking Margarita pizza is easy and at home.

Ingredients:

• water 200 ml;
• flour - how much will go;
• oil - 30 ml;
• salt - 5 g;
• sugar - 10 g;
• yeast - 9 g;
• tomato sauce - 100 g;
• fresh tomatoes - 150 g;
• mozzarella cheese - 130 g;
• a mixture of dry herbs - 10 g.

Cooking:

1. Heat the water up to 38 degrees. Pour in sugar, salt, yeast and about 150 g of flour. Stir. Continuing to add flour, knead not very hard dough. Put it in a bowl, cover with a napkin. Leave for half an hour on the table.

2. Separate about a third of the dough and form it into a round pizza base. The thickness of the layer should be no more than 4-5 mm.

3. Thinly slice the cheese and tomatoes. Instead of Italian mozzarella, you can take any soft cheese.

4. Lubricate the pizza base with any ready-made tomato sauce. You can cook it yourself by frying 50-60 g of onion with a clove of garlic and 2-3 grated fresh or canned tomatoes. Add herbs, salt and sugar to the sauce to taste.

5. Arrange cheese and tomatoes on top. Sprinkle pizza with herbs.

6. Bake pizza Margherita in a hot oven at 200 degrees for about 12 minutes.

In any pizzeria, you will certainly find Italian pizza Margherita (Pizza Margherita) on the menu. This famous type of the world's most popular dish is considered classic and traditional. This pizza can be safely called the basic version of pizza, because on its basis you can invent and cook various types of this dish. But this does not mean at all that Margarita is inferior in itself. On the contrary, in simplicity - all its charm: purity of taste and pleasant textures. And in order to enjoy it, it is not necessary to go to a pizzeria, because making Margherita pizza at home is not at all difficult.

Margherita, like all other types of pizza, is based on yeast dough. It is prepared by kneading softer than for making bread. This allows you to stretch the dough well, and after baking it turns out tender, soft and airy despite the fact that it is baked at a high temperature.

A must for the classic Margherita pizza recipe is tomato sauce, which is prepared on the basis of tomato puree with onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs. The next ingredients are tomato slices, fresh basil and tender mozzarella for the filling. Mozzarella cheese is best in the form of small balls sold in brine, but other types of this cheese will work.

Margherita pizza is baked at a very high temperature. Of course, in a household oven it is impossible to achieve the temperature of a real wood-burning stove, but it is worth warming it up to the maximum - 250-280 degrees. Do this 40-50 minutes before the start of baking, by all means with a baking sheet to send the pizza straight to it. Believe me, you will get an unforgettable dish!

Ingredients

• 260 grams of wheat flour
• 160 grams of water
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons olive oil for the dough, plus 2 more tbsp. sauce spoons
• 0.5 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 bulb
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100-120 grams of mozzarella
• 1 small bunch basil (purple or green, your choice)
• salt, pepper, italian herb mix

Output of the finished product: 2 pizzas with a diameter of 28-30 cm

How to make Pizza Margherita

It is convenient to knead pizza dough with a bread machine or mixer, but you can also knead it by hand. For a bread maker, use the “Dough” or “Pizza Dough” mode, and with a mixer or hand knead, knead the dough until smooth.

Dough kneading by hand or with a mixer

For these methods of kneading the dough, place all the ingredients in a deep bowl. First, mix them with your hands so that all the flour absorbs the liquid. You can then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, or use a stand mixer with hook attachments on speed 1 or 2.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and soft. You will see how it will become supple and uniform.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a bowl, covered with cling film. Leave to ferment for 1 hour.

Kneading dough in a bread machine

Pour water and olive oil into a mixing bowl. Then add flour, yeast and 0.5 teaspoon of salt to the container.

At first it may seem to you that there is not enough flour, but do not rush to add more.

As you knead, the dough will become smooth, but its structure will get stronger, and it will not seem too soft and sticky to you.

After the dough is kneaded, leave it in a warm place to ferment for 1 hour. During this time, it should increase by one and a half to two times.

Tomato sauce for pizza

While the dough is rising, you can make the sauce. To prepare it, chop the onion and garlic. Place the vegetables in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan with hot olive oil. Cook over low heat until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add mixed Italian herbs to vegetables. They make the sauce flavorful.

Cut one tomato into random pieces. Send it to a blender and grind to a puree.

Then pass the resulting pulp through a sieve to get rid of the skin and seeds.

Pour this pulp into a saucepan with vegetables.

Return the sauce to the heat and cook over low heat until it thickens. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

pizza cooking

Divide the dough into two parts and roll each into a ball.

Gently flatten the dough into a layer. You should not use a rolling pin for this - with your hands you will form the cake carefully, leaving large bubbles inside the dough, and the edges of the cake will remain a little thicker and will be softer after baking.

Chop the basil and tomatoes.

Cut the mozzarella into slices. If you are using pickled mozzarella, you can split it in half with your hands because it is very soft.

Lay the cake on a sheet of parchment and on a wooden board. Brush the pastry with the chilled sauce and sprinkle with basil.

Arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle lightly with the Italian herb mixture.

Send the pizza to the preheated oven, carefully moving it from the wooden board to the hot baking sheet. Cook at a temperature of 250-280 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Finish the Margherita pizza with fresh basil leaves.

This amount of ingredients makes 2 large or 3 medium sized thin crust pizzas. Experiment!

Sift, if desired, wheat flour.

In a deep bowl, mix 500 g of flour and 1 tsp. salt.

Let's make a small indentation in the center.

In warm water (325 ml), stir 11 g of dry yeast and leave for 5 minutes.

Now pour the water with yeast into the middle of the flour and use a fork or a tablespoon to start kneading the dough.

As soon as it becomes difficult to continue working with a spoon / fork, put it aside, sprinkle flour on your hands and continue kneading the dough, but already on the table.

Now roll the dough into a ball and stretch it with both hands. Pull the dough towards you with your left hand and away from you with your right hand.

Work with the base of your palm. Thus, we roll the dough into a roll, and then into a ball and repeat this several times. Ideally, you need to knead the dough for at least 10 minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. The process is not easy, but it's worth it!

Sprinkle a little flour on a table or cutting board and place two balls of dough. Sprinkle them on top with a little flour too.

Cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour. The dough can double in size.

When the dough has risen, beat it lightly and again leave it for a while under a towel. Literally for 20-30 minutes, but for now we will make a delicious tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce

For the sauce, we need: 5-6 cloves of garlic, 400 g of tomatoes in their own juice and a handful of basil leaves.
Fry the garlic cloves in a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the washed and dried basil leaves and fry everything again a little. If necessary, add more olive oil.

Now pour plum tomatoes in their own juice or those that you will have. So that nothing disappears in the jar, pour about 150 ml of water into it, shake it up and pour the rest into a saucepan.

On medium heat, put out our sauce and mash all the tomatoes with a spatula. I added 1 tsp. dry oregano. Continue to simmer and stir the sauce occasionally for about 7-10 minutes. We take it off the fire.

Prepare a deep bowl and a sieve. Pour the sauce from the saucepan into the sieve and begin to knead all the pulp with a spoon. Like me. It's like you're making a puree.

P.S. Do not rush to wash the saucepan, we will still need it.

We should get a fragrant, homogeneous tomato sauce without any pieces. I had quite a bit of waste left in the strainer, and I threw it away.

We return all the liquid that we strained back to the saucepan and continue to simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens. This took me about 10-15 minutes.

This is how our tomato sauce turned out.

Back to the test, it should have increased in size again. So, put a little flour on the work surface, put one ball of dough on it and make a depression in the center with your fist. Let's take our cake and in a circle we will begin to touch it with our fingers. With each circle, our cake is getting bigger and bigger. Now put the dough on the table and use your fingertips to go over its entire surface. You can see everything in the photo. Do not try to make the circle even, after all, this is homemade pizza, and carelessness is now in fashion! ;)

Don't worry if the dough breaks a little, you can always patch it up!

Preheat the oven to 250C

Grease a baking sheet with sunflower oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of semolina on top. She will not let the dough stick to the baking sheet and in general, many Italians do this. And why are we worse?)))
Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and drizzle with a few drops of olive oil.

Now we distribute 1/2 of the sauce throughout the dough, you can even use the edges. It is not necessary to pour the sauce too abundantly, only a thin layer.

Salt a little and add grated parmesan. Somewhere 2-3 tbsp. l. And now the last, final touch - mozzarella. We take a ball of mozzarella, tear it into several pieces with our hands and lay the cheese all over the pizza.

Add a few basil leaves on top. Don't forget to leave some more for decoration. And now straight into the oven for 10 minutes. Repeat exactly the same procedure with the second ball of dough. I do not recommend leaving it overnight! The dough becomes not quite elastic afterward. And, believe me, you are unlikely to stop at one pizza!) Make the second with salami or bacon - it will be delicious!

Incredibly delicious Margherita pizza is ready! Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves, call the household and try! Bon Appetit!

Perhaps the most common pizza on the globe, symbolizing the colors of the flag of Italy, named after one of the queens - pizza Margherita.

It includes only three main ingredients, so it seems at first glance that it is very simple to prepare it. However, there are pitfalls here as well.

Let me tell you about how the perfect dish with a beautiful name and appearance is prepared.

Margarita: a classic version on thin dough

For cooking, you need to take the following products: for the dough: flour - 1.5 tbsp.; 250 ml of water; yeast - 5 g; for the filling: 7-8 mozzarella balls; tomato paste - 4 tablespoons; cherry tomatoes - 6-7 pcs.; basil leaves; garlic; hard cheese - 50 g; olive oil.

Italian pizza is prepared only on thinly rolled dough, while its sides should be very large and lush.

Let's and we will strive for this standard. Of course, our pizza will be baked in the oven, and not in the oven, as expected, but the taste will be as close to ideal as possible.

Recipe. Pizza Margherita is prepared like this:

1. I add yeast to flour, add salt. I knead the dough by adding water.
2. Finely chop the garlic and basil, mix with tomato paste and oil.
3. From the dough I make the basis for pizza. I roll out a thin cake in the middle with thick sides.
4. Spread the stuffing evenly on top.
5. I cut the tomatoes into rings and alternate with mozzarella balls spread on top of the filling.
6. I sprinkle with olive oil and send it to preheated to 220 gr. oven for ten minutes.
7. Grate hard cheese and sprinkle over pizza. I put it in the oven for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Spread the fresh basil leaves evenly over the melted cheese and serve.

Pizza looks great thanks to the combination of cheese and tomatoes. So this pizza can adequately decorate any festive table.

Margarita on the finished cake

If you are limited in time or you do not want to bother with preparing the dough, use ready-made wheat flour tortillas. They are often sold in stores called Tortilla.

Of course, such a dough will only remotely resemble the traditional basis of an Italian dish. But why not experiment?

To prepare pizza on the finished dough, the following products are needed:

cake - 1 pc.; mozzarella balls; olive oil - 2 tablespoons; balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon; tomato - 1 pc.; basil leaves; garlic.

Pizza recipe:

1. I cut the mozzarella into thick rings, the tomato into thin circles.
2. Grind basil leaves and three cloves of garlic.
3. I add chopped garlic to the olive oil and grease the finished wheat cake with it. I leave some garlic oil.
4. I bake in preheated to 180 gr. oven for five minutes.
5. I take it out of the oven and immediately distribute half the serving of chopped cheese.
6. Next, I distribute the tomatoes, if necessary, add spices.
7. I evenly spread the remaining half of the serving of cheese on top, sprinkle with basil (also half of the total volume).
8. I send it to the oven and wait for the cheese to melt (no more than 6-8 minutes).
9. I add balsamic vinegar to the garlic oil and pour over the finished pizza. Sprinkle with remaining basil before serving. The pizza is cut into slices. I recommend eating hot.

Margarita for Vegetarians

Think it's impossible and that classic mozzarella pizza can't compare to a vegetarian option? Worth a try, especially since there are special cheeses with enzymes of non-animal origin. This is the cheese we will be using.

Vegetarian pizza requires the following ingredients:

for the dough: flour; water - 1 tbsp.; yeast - 1 sachet; salt - ½ teaspoon; grow oil - 2 tablespoons;
for the filling: cheese - 140 g; tomatoes - 0.5 kg; tomato paste - 3 tablespoons; olive oil - 2 tablespoons; granulated sugar - 1 tsp; one bulb; basil; garlic.

Recipe. Vegetarian pizza is prepared as follows:

1. Pour yeast into warm water, add salt.
2. I sift the flour and gradually add it to the yeast in small portions. I knead the dough.
3. I add vegetable oil, knead again. I leave it in a warm place.
4. I cut the tomatoes into cubes, after removing the skin. To facilitate the process of peeling the skin, scald the tomato with boiling water and immediately get to work.
5. I chop the garlic clove, cut the onion into small cubes. I send it to a frying pan and a little carcass in olive oil.
6. I send chopped tomatoes, tomato paste to the pan, add a little salt and granulated sugar. You can add spices and chopped basil greens. I mix the whole mass and continue to simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes until thickened.
7. I divide the entire volume of the approached dough into 3 equal pieces. If you plan to make only one pizza, then the number of ingredients must be reduced by a factor of three.
8. I roll out a layer with a thin day and thick sides, grease with oil. From above I distribute the resulting tomato mass.
9. I cut the cheese into thin slices and evenly distribute it over the mass.
10. I decorate with whole basil leaves (you can do this before serving).
11. I sprinkle the surface of the pizza with oil and send it to a preheated to 200 gr. oven. Baking time is about half an hour.

Margarita with herbs

This recipe is for spicy pizza lovers. Traditional mozzarella is complemented by oregano, ground red pepper, and cheese is used, which brings its own salty note.

In order to bake pizza with herbs, you need the following products:

for the dough: flour - 2 tbsp.; water - 1 tbsp.; dry yeast - 1 sachet; sugar - 1 tablespoon; salt - 1 teaspoon;
for the filling: tomato paste - ½ tbsp.; mozzarella - 1 pack; 80 g of hard cheese; spices and herbs.

Cooking process at home:

1. I knead the dough from the products available on the list. I leave it for proofing.
2. I add oregano, pepper, spices of your choice to the tomato paste (you can use a ready-made pizza kit).
3. From the dough I roll out a layer of small thickness (up to 5 mm). I form the sides. You can do this directly on a baking sheet covered with foil.
4. I spread the spicy tomato paste on top.
5. I cut the cheese into pieces or rings. I spread it on top of the paste.
6. I put in warmed up to 200 gr. oven for fifteen minutes. As soon as the dough is browned, cover with a layer of grated cheese on top and remove for another couple of minutes.

Serve directly from the stove, cut into portions.

Margarita with yeast

Everyone knows how to cook with baker's yeast. Have you ever baked with brewer's yeast? It turns out a very interesting result. Especially with milk cheese Mozzarella Fior di latte.

To prepare a gourmet dish, you need the following products:

for the dough: flour - 2 cups; water - 1 glass; yeast - 25 g; olive oil - 2 tablespoons; salt;
for the filling: Mozzarella Fior di latte - 200 g; tomatoes - 230 g; basil; olive oil - 2 tablespoons.

Cooking method step by step:

1. I knead the dough. I sift the flour with a slide on the table, make a deepening, add salt, yeast. I pour oil with warm water into the center. I mix everything thoroughly. I clean it in a warm place for one hour, covering it with cling film or a towel.
2. I cut the cheese into rings.
3. I peel the tomatoes and cut into slices.
4. I divide the dough into two equal parts. From each I make the basis for pizza. To do this, I roll it into a thin layer and make sides.
5. I evenly distribute the tomatoes, then lay them on top of the cheese ring.
6. I spray the surface with oil and add a little salt.
7. I put in preheated to 200-220 gr. oven for a quarter of an hour.
8. I decorate the finished dish by sprinkling a leaf of basil on top.

Margarita: fresh yeast dough recipe

This version of pizza will appeal to those who do not like dry powdered yeast, but fresh in briquettes. Honey is used as an additional ingredient, which will give the dough a special flavor.

The following products are needed for cooking:

For the dough: flour - 2 tbsp.; honey - 1 tbsp; vegetable oil - 1 tbsp; yeast - 15 g; water; salt;
mozzarella - 180 g; tomatoes - 4 pcs.; basil.

Cooking process:

1. I knead the dough. I sift the flour with a slide. I mix with yeast, grind with my hands.
2. I add the rest of the ingredients. I add water in a small stream.
3. I send the kneaded dough to proofing in a warm place.
4. I peel the tomatoes, cut into small pieces and grind in a blender.
5. I cut the cheese into slices.
6. I roll out the dough into a thin layer, make sides, grease with olive oil.
7. I evenly distribute the tomato mass, spread a layer of cheese on top.
8. I send it to preheated to 200 gr. oven for a quarter of an hour (until the cheese is completely melted).
9. I decorate the finished dish with green leaves and cut into portioned pieces.

If you have your own pizza recipes, share with us, photos are welcome.

As always, at the end of the selection of recipes, my recommendations on how to make Margherita pizza perfect.

• After kneading, the dough is best stored in the refrigerator;
• Basil can be replaced with any other greens;
• For pizza, it is better to use premium flour and be sure to sift it, ideally a mixture of different types of flour is used;
• Traditionally, an oven is used for baking pizza; at home, a well-heated oven is suitable.

My video recipe