How to Make PIZZA MARGHERITA like a Neapolitan Pizza Chef

INGREDIENTS: 1kg/4.25 cups Le 5 Stagioni Pizza Napoletana Flour 600ml/ 2.5 cups water (room temperature) 2g/0.03oz fresh yeast 30g/2 tablespoons sea salt 1 x tin (400 grams - 14 oz) San Marzano Tomatoes Fresh Basil Handful pecorino romano cheese 100g/3.53oz Fior di latte Mozzarella Salt Extra virgin olive oil METHOD: STEP ONE: HOW TO MAKE THE NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH FOR CLASSIC PIZZA MARGHERITA 1. Classic Margherita Pizza starts with an authentic Napoletana pizza base. 2. Pour 600ml water into your mixing bowl and dissolve the sea salt by mixing it in with your hands. 3. Add 100g/3.53oz of flour to the water and mix using your hands. 4. Once the flour has dissolved, add the fresh yeast, breaking it down into the water again, until it disappears! 5. At this stage, add the flour gradually, mixing as you go and once your dough is thicker and starts to form, transfer it on to your bench (don’t forget to line the bench with flour first!) 6. Rub the excess sticky dough from your hands, letting it drop into the mix and knead it through the dough. 7. To knead, press forward and fold back, repeating this process and working the dough until you get a soft and elastic consistency. 8. Once you are happy with the dough, cover it and leave it to rest for 18hr at room temperature. 9. After this time, create pizza balls that weigh 270g/9.05o. Put them into a tray then cover them too and leave to prove for another 4-6hr. STEP TWO: STRETCHING THE CLASSIC PIZZA MARGHERITA BASE 10. Spread some flour over the top of your board. 11. Get one of the balls out from the tray using a small amount flour on the sides to prevent it from sticking – to your hands and the tray – and place it on the bench. 12. This dough is very elastic so will stretch easily. Start to create the round base by working your fingertips from the bottom all the way up, making sure to leave a 1cm rim all around the edges. 13. Turn the pizza upside down and repeat the process. This pushes all the air to the bottom and into the crust. 14. Repeat this – gently – twice on each side, then lift the base, flip it into one hand and onto the bench, helping it to stretch further and form a circle. Authentic Pizza Margherita is the absolute QUEEN of pizza’s – delicate yet rich and flavourful; the original recipe uses Neapolitan base and is topped with 4 quality ingredients. This episode of my Pizza Masterclass will teach you the how to make a classic pizza margherita thanks to Lucio who was raised in the birthplace of this masterpiece, Naples, Italy – who started making pizza’s almost before he could talk! Thanks to Le 5 Stagioni, Lucio created (and devoured) a classic pizza margherita, known well for the colours it is adorned with, the same as those on the Italian flag…watch this margherita pizza video and recreate the authentic version of the most popular pizza ever created.