Homemade pizza margherita
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and measures (hob, grams, gas marks); the US version uses stove, cups and °F. · US version of this page
Pizza from scratch: a yeast dough kneaded by hand, a simple tomato sauce and a very hot oven.
- Serves 4
- About 1 hr 30 min
- Oven
- Best for: KS2 (ages 7–11)
- Vegetarian if you check the labels
Ingredients
- 300 g strong white bread flour – contains gluten
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 190 ml hand-warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 150 g passata (sieved tomatoes)
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs or oregano
- 150 g mozzarella, torn or grated – contains milk
- 8 fresh basil leaves, leaves (optional)
Need a different amount? Use the recipe finder to change the servings.
Equipment
- digital scales
- measuring jug
- measuring spoons
- large mixing bowl
- clean tea towel
- rolling pin
- 2 baking trays
- spoon
- oven gloves
- pizza cutter
Safety first
- Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, tie back long hair and put on a clean apron.
- Ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes. This recipe contains: gluten, milk.
- Do not eat raw dough or cake mixture – raw flour and raw egg can carry harmful bacteria.
- Carry knives pointing down, put them down flat, and never leave one in the washing-up water.
- Use dry oven gloves for anything that has been in the oven or under the grill.
Allergens: Cereals containing gluten, Milk. Always read every label and ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes.
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt (keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl at first). Add the warm water and oil and mix into a soft dough.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface: push the dough away with the heel of your hand, fold it back, turn it a quarter and repeat, until smooth and stretchy. (10 min)
- Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave somewhere warm until it has doubled in size. (45 min)
- An adult turns the oven on to 220 °C (200 °C fan, gas 7) and oils the trays.
- Knock the air out, cut the dough in two and roll each piece into a thin round. Put them on the trays.
- Mix the passata and herbs and spread it thinly, leaving a border. Scatter over the mozzarella.
- An adult puts the trays in the oven. Bake until the base is crisp and the cheese is bubbling. (12 min)
- An adult takes them out with oven gloves. Add the basil, leave for 2 minutes (melted cheese is very hot), then cut with the pizza cutter. (2 min)
What this recipe teaches
Mixing, Kneading and shaping dough, Proving dough, Using an oven safely, Assembling a dish, Presenting food. Steps marked “Adult” are always done by an adult; steps marked “Teacher-led” are done by an adult for primary-age children.
Nutrition per serving
| Energy | 1706 kJ / 408 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 12 g |
| of which saturates | 5.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 62.8 g |
| of which sugars | 2.2 g |
| Fibre | 3.5 g |
| Protein | 16.4 g |
| Salt | 1.14 g |
Worked out from the raw ingredients (optional ones and pinches not counted) using CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, Public Health England). Brands vary – check labels.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021, Public Health England.
Eatwell Guide groups in this recipe: Fruit and vegetables; Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; Dairy and alternatives; Oil and spreads. Learn about the Eatwell Guide.
Curriculum links
- KS2 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet”
- KS2 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques”
Try the interactive lesson
Step by step: a quick safety check, questions marked by Classfern, timers for each cooking step, then an honest look at how it went – a teacher or parent judges the cooking, and learners rate their own work. Photos of the finished dish stay at home.
Use the code your teacher gave you – never your name. Progress is kept on this device.