Margherita Pizza with Basil Oil
Makes one 12-inch pizza · Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: about 55 minutes (includes preheating) · Total: about 1 hour 15 minutes
The mozzarella can look almost skimpy before the pizza goes in. It spreads as it melts, and those open patches of tomato give the basil oil somewhere to settle.
Ingredients
For the pizza
- 1 ball pizza dough, about 10 to 12 ounces, at room temperature
- Flour or semolina, for the counter and pizza peel
- ½ cup canned whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
- A few fresh basil leaves
- Olive oil, for finishing
For the basil oil
- ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan
- Pinch of kosher salt
- A very small piece of garlic, optional
Instructions
- 1
Make the basil oil
Put the basil, olive oil, Parmesan, salt, and garlic in a small food processor or blender. Blend until the basil is finely chopped but the oil still has some texture. Add another spoonful of olive oil if it looks too thick to spoon over the pizza.
- 2
Chop the basil oil by hand
You can also chop everything together by hand. It will be rougher, which is fine.
- 3
Heat the oven
Put a pizza steel or stone on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Heat the oven to its highest setting—ideally 500 to 550°F—for at least 45 minutes.
- 4
Prepare the tomatoes
Drain off any watery liquid from the tomatoes, then crush them with your hands. Stir in the salt and teaspoon of olive oil. Leave the sauce alone after that; it does not need sugar, oregano, or garlic.
- 5
Prepare the mozzarella
Pat the mozzarella dry and tear it into small pieces. If it is sitting in a lot of liquid, leave the pieces on a paper towel while you stretch the dough.
- 6
Stretch the dough
Flour the counter lightly. Press the dough outward from the center, leaving about an inch around the edge untouched. Pick it up and stretch it over the backs of your hands until it is roughly 12 inches across. It does not need to be perfectly round. If it keeps shrinking, let it rest for 10 minutes and try again.
- 7
Transfer the dough
Transfer the dough to a floured pizza peel or a sheet of parchment.
- 8
Add the toppings
Spread the tomatoes almost to the rim. Scatter the mozzarella over the sauce, leaving plenty of tomato visible, then add the Parmesan.
- 9
Bake the pizza
Slide the pizza onto the hot steel or stone. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes, until the crust has puffed and the bottom is browned. If the crust is cooked but the top still looks pale, turn on the broiler for the final 30 to 60 seconds. Watch it closely.
- 10
Finish with basil oil
Tear the basil leaves over the hot pizza. Spoon the basil oil around the surface rather than pouring it over the whole thing. Finish with a little olive oil and, if you like, another dusting of Parmesan.
- 11
Rest and slice
Let the pizza sit for a minute before slicing.
Recipe notes
Shortcuts and substitutions
- Store-bought dough: Refrigerated pizza dough is the easiest shortcut. Let it sit on the counter for 45 to 90 minutes before stretching. Cold dough is stubborn.
- No pizza stone or steel: Preheat an upside-down metal sheet pan with the oven. Assemble the pizza on parchment and slide the parchment onto the hot pan.
- Jarred sauce: Use ⅓ to ½ cup of a plain pizza sauce. Avoid one that is very sweet or heavily seasoned.
- Prepared pesto: Stir 1 tablespoon of pesto with 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil and spoon it over the pizza after baking. It is richer than the basil oil, so use it lightly.
- Fresh mozzarella: Bocconcini or mozzarella pearls work well. Shredded whole-milk mozzarella also works and makes a less watery pizza, though it will not have the same soft, milky patches.
- Parmesan: Grana Padano is the closest swap. Pecorino Romano works too, but use less because it is saltier.
- Whole tomatoes: Substitute passata or plain crushed tomatoes. If the sauce looks thin, drain it briefly before using it.
- Quick flatbread version: Use naan or another sturdy flatbread. Add the toppings and bake at 450°F for 8 to 10 minutes, then finish with basil oil. It will not have the same puffy crust, but everything else still works.
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