Homemade Margherita Pizza Recipe for a Home Oven: Simple Dough, Sauce, and Bake Tips

A crisp edge, bright tomato, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil make Margherita pizza a good place to learn the basics of pizza making. This home-oven version makes two thin, 11- to 12-inch pizzas. The dough is mixed by hand, rises once, and bakes on a thoroughly heated stone or steel.

Yield: two 11- to 12-inch pizzas, about 4 servings. Active time: about 25 minutes. Rising: 60 to 90 minutes. Oven preheat: 45 minutes, which can overlap the rise. Baking: about 8 to 12 minutes per pizza at 500°F (260°C). These are guide times; use the browning cues below.

Ingredients for two Margherita pizzas

Dough

• 300 g all-purpose or bread flour (about 2½ cups, spooned and leveled), plus a little for shaping
• 195 g water (about ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon), lukewarm
• 3 g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
• 6 g fine salt (about 1 teaspoon; weigh it if possible)
• 10 g olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)

Toppings

• 200 g crushed tomatoes (about ¾ cup)
• 200 g fresh mozzarella (about 7 oz), well drained
• About 12 fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus a little more to finish
• A pinch of salt for the tomatoes

You will also need a large bowl, a clean work surface, and a pizza peel or a rimless tray. A pizza steel or stone gives the base the strongest burst of heat. An inverted heavy baking sheet is a workable alternative.

1. Mix and rise the dough

Stir the flour, yeast, and salt together in a bowl. Add the water and olive oil, then mix until no dry flour remains. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 7 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smoother and springs back slowly when pressed. If it feels tacky, give it a short rest before adding more flour; too much extra flour makes shaping harder.

Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until visibly puffy and roughly doubled. A cool room may take longer. Divide it into two equal balls, cover them, and rest them for 10 minutes so they stretch more easily.

2. Prepare tomato, mozzarella, and basil

Stir a pinch of salt into the crushed tomatoes. Tear or slice the mozzarella into small pieces and let it drain on a towel or in a sieve for at least 15 minutes. Too much moisture is a common cause of a soft center. Set aside about 100 g of tomato and 100 g of mozzarella for each pizza. Keep the basil for the end so it stays green and fresh.

3. Preheat the oven and baking surface

Put a stone or steel on a rack in the upper-middle part of the oven. Heat the oven to its highest safe setting, ideally around 500°F (260°C), for 45 minutes so the baking surface is hot throughout. If you use an inverted heavy baking sheet, preheat it too. Do not place a cold stone into an already hot oven; follow its maker's instructions.

At a lower oven temperature, baking can take longer than the 8 to 12 minutes listed here. Watch the crust and cheese rather than relying only on a timer.

4. Shape and top one pizza at a time

Dust the work surface and your hands lightly. Press one dough ball from the center outward, leaving a slightly thicker rim. Gently stretch and turn it into an 11- to 12-inch round. If it keeps shrinking, cover it and rest it for another 10 minutes. Move it to a lightly floured peel or a sheet of parchment on a rimless tray.

Spread about 100 g of tomato over the first round in a thin layer, leaving the rim bare. Scatter about 100 g of drained mozzarella over it and drizzle with about 1 teaspoon olive oil. Avoid piling on toppings: the dough needs enough heat to bake through. Assemble the second pizza only when you are ready to bake it.

5. Bake, finish, and serve

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone or steel. Bake for roughly 8 to 12 minutes at 500°F (260°C), rotating if one side browns faster. It is ready when the rim has brown spots, the underside is cooked, and the cheese is melted. If you use parchment, remove it once the crust has set if its package directions require it. Repeat with the second pizza.

Let each pizza rest for a minute or two. Add fresh basil leaves and a small drizzle of olive oil, then slice and serve while hot.

Watch the techniques

These two videos are supplementary demonstrations from other cooks. Their ingredient quantities and oven methods may differ from the recipe above.

Dough and shaping demonstration

Jamie Oliver's “How to Make Perfect Pizza” shows handling and shaping techniques.

Margherita assembly demonstration

Gordon Ramsay's “How to Make Margherita Pizza at Home” shows another approach to topping and baking.

Quick troubleshooting

• Center is soggy: Drain the mozzarella longer, use less tomato, and make sure the baking surface is fully preheated.
• Dough springs back: Cover it and rest it for 10 minutes before stretching again.
• Top browns before the base: Move the stone or steel one rack lower next time, or reduce the amount of topping.
• No stone or steel: Preheat an inverted heavy baking sheet. The base may be a little softer, but it will still bake.

Recipe notes and sources

This is an edited OptiDraft demonstration recipe, not a kitchen-tested recipe. The generated first draft was revised for consistent quantities and a clear home-oven method. The four photographs are real, licensed illustrative images, not photos of a batch made from these instructions.

For more on pizza technique and oven preheating, see King Arthur Baking's Margherita pizza recipe and its pizza baking guide. Pizza ovens use much higher heat and shorter bake times; Ooni's pizza-oven method is a separate reference for that equipment.

Want to see how this example was made? Read the OptiDraft recipe case study for the generator settings, screenshots, photo sources, and editing notes.