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Italian

Margherita Flatbread Pizza

A simple yeast dough baked hot with crushed tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Plan on about 45 minutes of rising. The cheese should melt and the crust should spot with color.

Prep
20 min
Cook
12 min
Total
32 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Medium
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Margherita flatbread pizza with melted mozzarella, tomato, and basil

Why you’ll love it

  • A hot oven is the difference between pizza and a soft cracker.
  • Tomato under the cheese, basil after the bake.
  • The dough needs that rise or it bakes dense.
  • It is vegetarian and it still feels like dinner.

Ingredients

Servings4

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Stir the flour, yeast, warm water, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp oil into a soft dough. Knead 5 minutes. Cover and rise until puffy, about 45 minutes. If the water was hotter than about 120°F, the yeast will not rise.

  2. 2

    Heat the oven to 475°F. If you have a baking steel or an overturned sheet pan, heat that too.

  3. 3

    Stir the crushed tomatoes with the garlic. Stretch the dough into two small ovals on parchment.

  4. 4

    Spread the tomato over the dough. Lay on the mozzarella. Drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt.

  5. 5

    Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is browned in spots and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

  6. 6

    Top with basil after it comes out.

Pro tips

  • Wet dough stretches. If it snaps back, let it rest 5 minutes.
  • Do not load it with extra sauce. A thin layer keeps the center from steaming.
  • Fresh mozzarella should be patted dry or the pizza gets watery.

Easy substitutions

fresh mozzarella
1 1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella
the homemade dough
1 pound store-bought pizza dough

Storage and reheating

Storage

Refrigerate slices up to 3 days.

Reheating

Heat on a pan at 400°F until the crust crisps again, about 8 minutes. A microwave makes it tough.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
420
Protein
16 g
Carbs
52 g
Fat
16 g
Fiber
2 g

Budget friendly · Oven · Vegetarian

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  • A heavy 12-inch skillet

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  • A half-sheet pan

    Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.

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Ingredients