Pizza Express Margherita

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 230°C.
2. 2 Add the sugar and crumble the fresh yeast into warm water.
3. 3 Allow the mixture to stand for 10 – 15 minutes in a warm place (we find a windowsill on a sunny day works best) until froth develops on the surface.
   10–15 minutes
4. 4 Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil.
5. 5 Lightly flour your hands, and slowly mix the ingredients together until they bind.
6. 6 Generously dust your surface with flour.
7. 7 Throw down the dough and begin kneading for 10 minutes until smooth, silky and soft.
   10 minutes
8. 8 Place in a lightly oiled, non-stick baking tray (we use a round one, but any shape will do!)
9. 9 Spread the passata on top making sure you go to the edge.
10. 10 Evenly place the mozzarella (or other cheese) on top, season with the oregano and black pepper, then drizzle with a little olive oil.
11. 11 Cook in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes until the cheese slightly colours.
    10–12 minutes
12. 12 When ready, place the basil leaf on top and tuck in!

Cooking notes

Scaling works best when you weigh ingredients rather than measure by volume — small differences in packing can compound at higher multipliers.

For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.

When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.