Margherita is the pizza that tells you whether your ingredients are any good. There is nowhere to hide: dough, tomato, cheese, basil, oil. Get the cheese right and it works. This is how we make it at Roomeys using our Pizzarella cheese.
What you need (makes 2 pizzas, about 30 cm each)
Dough
- 500 g strong bread flour, plus extra for shaping
- 325 ml water, room temperature
- 10 g fine salt
- 3 g dry yeast (about one teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Topping
- 1 tin (400 g) whole peeled tomatoes, or 300 g fresh ripe tomatoes
- 250 g Roomeys Pizzarella cheese, cut into small cubes or torn
- Fresh basil leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
Make the dough
Mix the yeast into the water and leave it for two minutes. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, pour in the water, add the oil, and bring it together with your hand until there is no dry flour left. Tip it onto the counter and knead for about eight minutes. It will be sticky at first and then turn smooth and springy.
Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it, and leave it somewhere warm for two hours, or until it has roughly doubled. If you have time, leave it in the fridge overnight instead. The slow rise gives better flavour.
Divide the risen dough into two balls. Cover them and let them rest for another 30 minutes before shaping.
Make the sauce
Crush the tinned tomatoes by hand into a bowl. Do not cook them and do not blend them smooth. Add a good pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil, stir, and that is the sauce. Raw tomato sauce keeps its brightness once it hits the oven. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them, salt them, and let them sit in a sieve for 15 minutes so the extra water drains off.
Shape and top
Heat your oven as high as it goes, with a pizza stone or a heavy baking tray inside, for at least 30 minutes. A hot surface is what gives you a crisp base at home.
Flour the counter. Press one dough ball flat with your fingertips, working from the middle out and leaving a thicker rim. Stretch it to about 30 cm. Lift it onto a floured board or a piece of baking paper.
Spread a thin layer of sauce, leaving the rim clear. Scatter half the Roomeys Pizzarella cheese over the top. Keep it spread out rather than piled in the centre, so it melts evenly. Add a few drops of olive oil.
Bake
Slide the pizza onto the hot stone or tray. Bake for six to nine minutes, until the rim is blistered and the cheese is bubbling with a few golden spots. Times vary a lot with different ovens, so watch the first one closely.
Take it out, tear over a few fresh basil leaves, and finish with a little more olive oil. Slice and eat straight away.
Notes on the cheese
Roomeys Pizzarella is made to melt cleanly and stretch without turning oily or rubbery under high heat, which is why it holds up on a Margherita where the cheese is doing most of the work. Cut it small or tear it so it melts fast in the short bake. If your pizza comes out with a puddle of liquid on top, you either used too much cheese or the oven was not hot enough.
Buying Roomeys Pizzarella
We supply Pizzarella cheese to pizzerias, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets across Tanzania. For wholesale orders and pack sizes, get in touch with us.