Classic Wood-Fired Margherita Pizza Recipe
🍕 Classic Wood-Fired Margherita Pizza Recipe
There's something special about making pizza outdoors. Whether it's a relaxed family meal or a weekend get-together with friends, cooking in a gas pizza oven brings authentic pizzeria-style results right to your garden. The intense heat creates a beautifully crisp base, light and airy crust, and perfectly melted mozzarella in just a couple of minutes.
For the best results, preheat your pizza oven until it reaches around 400–500°C. At this temperature, the pizza cooks quickly, giving you the classic charred crust and soft, flavourful centre that makes homemade pizza so satisfying.
🛒 Ingredients (Makes 2 x 10–12" pizzas)
For the dough
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 325ml warm water
- 10g salt
- 3g dried yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the topping
- 200g good-quality pizza or passata sauce
- 250g fresh mozzarella, drained and torn into pieces
- Fresh basil leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A little flour or semolina for dusting
🧑🍳 Method
- Prepare the dough. Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and olive oil, then mix until a dough forms. Knead for around 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to rise for 1–2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Divide and rest. Split the dough into two equal balls. Cover and leave to rest for another 30–60 minutes, making the dough easier to stretch.
- Preheat the oven. Heat your gas pizza oven until the stone reaches 400–500°C. A properly heated stone helps create a crisp base while cooking the toppings evenly in just a few minutes.
- Shape the pizza. On a lightly floured surface, gently stretch one dough ball into a 10–12 inch circle. Avoid using a rolling pin if possible, as stretching by hand keeps the crust light and airy.
- Add the toppings. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the base, leaving a small border around the edge. Scatter over the mozzarella pieces, then season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Cook the pizza. Transfer the pizza onto the hot stone using a floured peel. Cook for approximately 90 seconds to 2½ minutes, turning regularly if needed, until the crust is puffed and lightly charred and the cheese has melted beautifully.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven, scatter over fresh basil leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately while hot.
💡 Top Tip
Don't overload your pizza with toppings. A simple Margherita allows the high heat of the oven to work its magic, producing a perfectly crisp base and balanced flavours every time.
➡️ If you're looking for the perfect oven for homemade pizzas, explore the Cozze 13" Classic Gas Pizza Oven (£199) for quick, authentic cooking:
https://salsplace.co.uk/products/cozze-13-classic-gas-pizza-oven-fast-outdoor-pizza-in-2-minutes
➡️ For larger pizzas and even easier cooking, the Cozze 17" Gas Pizza Oven with Rotating Stone (£409) offers excellent performance with a rotating pizza stone:
https://salsplace.co.uk/products/cozze-17-gas-pizza-oven-with-rotating-stone-outdoor-pizza-pro
➡️ You can also browse the full collection of outdoor pizza ovens here:
https://salsplace.co.uk/collections/buy-cozze-pizza-ovens-at-sals-place
