Uncle Larry Adventures

Italian Classics · Campania

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Pizza Margherita

Neapolitan-style pizza margherita with a slow-fermented dough, San Marzano tomato, fior di latte and fresh basil, baked as hot as your oven allows.

Pizza Margherita

Naples in three toppings

Neapolitan margherita pizza with charred crust, mozzarella and basil

The short version

Neapolitan-style pizza margherita with a slow-fermented dough, San Marzano tomato, fior di latte and fresh basil, baked as hot as your oven allows.

Prep
30 min
Cook
10 min
Total
24 hr
Serves
4 pizzas

Ingredients

  • 500 g 00 flour
  • 325 g water
  • 10 g salt
  • 1 g instant yeast
  • 1 14-oz can San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed
  • 12 oz fior di latte or fresh mozzarella, torn and drained
  • Fresh basil
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. 01

    Mix and rest. Combine flour, water, salt and yeast into a shaggy dough. Rest 20 minutes, then knead until smooth.

  2. 02

    Ferment. Bulk ferment 2 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate 24 hours. Divide into four 200 g balls and proof 2 hours before baking.

  3. 03

    Preheat hard. Heat a pizza steel or stone at the highest oven setting for a full hour.

  4. 04

    Shape by hand. Press the dough from the center out, leaving a puffed rim. Never use a rolling pin.

  5. 05

    Dress lightly. Spread crushed tomato with salt, scatter torn mozzarella and a drizzle of oil. Less is more.

  6. 06

    Bake and finish. Bake 6–8 minutes until the crust is blistered and the cheese is molten. Add fresh basil out of the oven.

Larry’s rule: Drain the mozzarella on paper towels for 30 minutes. Wet cheese equals soup pizza.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

Serving
1 serving (about 390 g)
Calories
870 calories
Protein
36 g
Carbs
89 g
Fat
40 g
Saturated fat
21 g
Fibre
4 g
Sugar
3 g
Sodium
1740 mg
Cholesterol
94 mg

Figures are estimates calculated from this recipe’s ingredients and yield. Brands, cuts and portion sizes will move them.

Quoting or citing this recipe? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” and link to this page (https://unclelarryadventures.com/recipes/pizza-margherita).

Before you cook

What to know about Pizza Margherita

What it is

Pizza Margherita is a pizza recipe rooted in Campania's tomato-rich, ingredient-first cooking. This version makes 4 pizzas in 24 hr and focuses on the technique that gives the dish its characteristic texture and flavor.

Why this method works

The method builds flavor in a deliberate order: mix and rest, then ferment, then preheat hard. Following that sequence keeps the main ingredients distinct while bringing the finished dish together.

Key ingredients and what they do

  • 500 g 00 flour — provides the recipe's main structure, so its cooking time and texture matter.
  • 325 g water — supports the dish's balance, texture and regional character.
  • 10 g salt — supports the dish's balance, texture and regional character.
  • 1 g instant yeast — supports the dish's balance, texture and regional character.

Smart substitutions

Use good-quality whole peeled tomatoes if San Marzano-style tomatoes are unavailable; crush them by hand and adjust the salt at the end.

Bread flour can stand in for 00 flour in a home oven. Expect a slightly chewier crust and adjust water only if the dough feels unusually dry.

Make ahead and leftovers

Make the dough ahead when the recipe allows. Refrigerate it covered, then bring it toward room temperature before shaping; bake topped pizza just before serving.

What to serve with it

  • Serve hot with a sharp green salad.
  • Cut into smaller pieces for an antipasto spread.

Larry’s why

Why the dough needs a slow, cold rise

A long rest in the fridge — 24 to 72 hours — lets enzymes break starch into sugar, which is what gives crust its colour and that faintly sweet, complex flavour. A fast warm rise makes gas but no taste. Time does the work you cannot fake with more yeast.

Larry’s rule: Less yeast, more time.

More questions Larry gets asked →

Ways Larry changes it up

Swaps, shortcuts and regional versions of pizza margherita.

Home oven, no pizza oven

Preheat a steel or stone at max for 45 minutes and finish under the broiler. You'll get 80% of the leopard-spotting without an 900°F oven.

Same-day vs cold-ferment dough

A 48-hour cold ferment in the fridge gives better flavor and blistering than a two-hour rise. Plan ahead when you can.

Pizza Margherita: common questions

Why is my pizza base soggy in the middle?
Too much sauce or wet mozzarella. Use a thin scrape of crushed tomato and drain torn fresh mozzarella on paper towels first.
When do you add the basil?
After the bake, or right at the end. Basil burns in a hot oven.

Questions Larry gets asked

Why is my pizza base soggy in the middle?
Too much sauce or wet mozzarella. Use a thin scrape of crushed tomato and drain torn fresh mozzarella on paper towels first.
When do you add the basil?
After the bake, or right at the end. Basil burns in a hot oven.

What to pour with it

Drink pairings for Pizza Margherita

Naples rules: bubbles, cold, nothing fussy.

See the full Italian beverage menu →

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Quick answer

Why does my Italian sausage come out dry?

Dry sausage is overcooked sausage nine times out of ten — pull it at 160°F (71°C), not 175°F. The other causes are too-lean meat (you need 25 to 30 percent fat), piercing the casings, and cooking over high heat that renders the fat out before the middle is done.

The gear Larry uses →Where to eat sausage & peppers →What to drink with it →This week on the blog: Labor Day Cookout: The Sausage Lineup That Never Fails →

Contact Larry

Recipe questions, restaurant tips, gear ideas, press and collabs — send it here.