This is my twist on a classic Margherita pizza. I stuffed the crust with fresh mozzarella cheese. Because more cheese is never a bad idea, right? I used fresh pearl mozzarella. If you can’t find the little balls, just dice up some regular fresh mozzarella into 1/4 inch pieces.
Fresh mozzarella is sold in small plastic containers or bags filled with water or whey. It is quite perishable and should be used within a few days. Regular, or “low moisture” mozzarella is sold in a block or ball, tightly wrapped without any liquid. it has a firmer texture and is more rubbery than fresh mozzarella. That is what the pizza gets topped with and what gives you that gorgeous cheese pull.
Here’s how it all comes together.
For the dough, you can certainly purchase ready made pizza dough. But if you want something truly spectacular, try Jim Lahey’s no knead pizza dough (recipe below). You need to plan a day ahead if you want to make the dough, but it’s worth it.
I have a little pizza oven that I can put on my BBQ. But I have also made pizza successfully in my regular oven. I would suggest getting a baking steel or pizza stone to bake the pizza on. I prefer the durability and performance of the baking steel, but have had good results with both.
A little drizzle of olive oil on the crust before baking ensures a golden crust.
Add the fresh basil after baking so that it does not wilt and go black.
Stuffed Crust Margherita Pizza
Equipment
- pizza stone or baking steel
Ingredients
- 900 grams pizza dough homemade or store bought
- 225 grams fresh pearl mozzarella or regular fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 130 grams marinara sauce I like Rao's brand
- 150 grams low moisture mozzarella shredded
- 25 grams Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- 15 leaves fresh basil julienned
Instructions
- Preheat your pizza oven if you have one or, set a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F, allowing at least 45 minutes for the stone to heat.
- Flour your work surface and scrape the dough out of the bowl. Divide it into 3 equal parts and shape them. For each pizza, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold the dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for a few minutes.
- Shape the pizzas, one at a time. On a lightly floured surface, pressing down with floured fingertips, shape the dough into a small, flat disk. Work from the center and push the dough outward, spreading your fingers as you make the disc larger. Keep the rim a bit thicker. Pick up the dough and move your hands along the edges, allowing gravity to pull the dough into a 12-inch circle. This method has been nicknamed, “Driving the Bus”.
- Lay a sheet of parchment paper, slightly larger than the pizza, on the counter and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Place dough on parchment paper. Pull rim of dough to flatten it a bit more. Arrange 1/3 of fresh mozzarella around the edges of the crust, leaving a 3/4-inch space. Fold the edges of the dough over the cheese, pinching down to seal.
- Top pizza with 1/3 of sauce, low moisture mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle crust with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky salt.
- Transfer pizza, still on parchment paper, to a pizza peel. Slide onto the pizza stone and bake for 3 minutes. Using the pizza peel, slide pizza out and, carefully, using tongs, pull the parchment paper out and discard. The parchment paper is just used to make sliding the pizza into the oven easier. If you leave it in for too long, it will burn. Now that the bottom of the pizza is partially cooked, it will slide easily back onto the stone. Continue baking until cheese is melted with some browned spots and crust is golden brown and puffed, 11 to 13 minutes more if you are using your oven. If you have a BBQ pizza oven, it will cook quicker, maybe 5-6 minutes in total.
- Remove from oven. Repeat with remaining 2 pizzas. It is best to shape and top them just before baking.
Nutrition
Jim Lahey’s No Knead Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 500 grams all-purpose or 00 flour
- 1 gram active dry yeast
- 16 grams Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 8 grams Mortons Kosher salt
- 350 grams water room temperature
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the flour, yeast, and salt.Add the water and, with a wooden spoon, a Danish whisk, or your hands, mix thoroughly.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one.
Lovely post! Learned how to make pizza in authentic method. Useful for culinary knowledge. Efficient method of learning how to make pizza. Followed the above method and tried to make pizza, ending up with awesome result in making a traditional pizza. Praised by family and feeling happy, thank you.
Hi Anushaa. It makes me so happy that you made this recipe and it was successful.