Italian · Free recipe
Blistered Margherita Pizza
A slow cold-fermented dough stretched thin by hand bakes on a preheated steel until the rim puffs and freckles with leopard spots. Topped with a raw crushed tomato sauce, torn fresh mozzarella, and basil added after baking, it tastes of a real pizzeria with nothing extra to hide behind.
- Prep
- 24 hr 30 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 24 hr 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
Method
-
Mix the flour, water, yeast, and salt until shaggy, rest for 15 minutes, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
-
Divide the dough into 2 balls, place in oiled containers, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours to develop flavor and extensibility.
-
Take the dough out 2 hours before baking, and set a pizza steel or stone on the top rack of the oven heated to its maximum, 500 to 550F, for a full hour.
-
Crush the tomatoes by hand with the olive oil and a pinch of salt, leaving them loose and slightly chunky; do not cook the sauce.
-
On a floured counter, press each ball from the center outward, leaving a 1-inch puffy rim, then stretch it over your knuckles into a 12-inch round.
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Set the dough on a semolina-dusted peel, spread on a thin layer of sauce, and scatter half the mozzarella and Pecorino over it.
-
Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, switching to the broiler for the final minute if needed, until the crust is puffed and blistered with dark spots.
-
Top with basil leaves and a thread of olive oil, rest for a minute, and slice.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Tear the mozzarella an hour ahead and let it drain on paper towels; wet cheese pools on the surface and keeps the center of the crust from crisping.
