Campania · Napoli

Pizza napoletana Margherita

Name: Pizza napoletana Margherita
Prep time: 390 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 392 min
Yield: 14 servings
Cuisine: Italian (Campania)
Ingredients: 1 l drinkable water; 50 g sea salt (50–55 g per litre of water); 3 g fresh brewer's yeast; 1.8 kg common wheat flour, strength W 220–380 (a strong pizza flour); 70 g peeled tomatoes, crushed (60–80 g); salt (a pinch, over the tomato); 90 g Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO or Mozzarella TSG, sliced (80–100 g); fresh basil leaves (a few); 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (4–5 g)

Neapolitan pizza Margherita

The only pizza with an EU specification: a soft disc with a raised rim, easily folded in four, topped with tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil.

EU-codifiedSources checked · October 2026

Course: Pizza e panePizza & bread
Serves: 14
Prep: 6 h 30 min
Cook: 2 min

La provenienza

Where this recipe comes from

‘Pizza Napoletana’ is registered by the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). The specification fixes almost everything: the flour, the dough and its two rises, shaping by hand only, the toppings and their weights, and baking in a wood-fired oven at about 485 °C for 60–90 seconds. The finished pizza is no more than 35 cm across, 0.4 cm thick in the centre, with a 1–2 cm rim, and soft enough to fold in four.

The specification allows two toppings. The Marinara has tomato, salt, oregano, a sliced clove of garlic and olive oil, and no cheese. The Margherita, given here, has tomato, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO or Mozzarella TSG, fresh basil and olive oil.

In 2017 UNESCO inscribed the art of the Neapolitan ‘pizzaiuolo’ on its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Provenance: EU-codifiedThe dish itself is protected by an EU specification (TSG, PDO or PGI) that fixes how it is made.
Defined by: European Union
Reference: Traditional Speciality Guaranteed ‘Pizza Napoletana’ — Commission Regulation (EU) No 97/2010, 2010
Sources: Commission Regulation (EU) No 97/2010 — ‘Pizza Napoletana’ TSG, with the full specification (EUR-Lex)
UNESCO — Art of Neapolitan ‘Pizzaiuolo’, intangible cultural heritage, 2017

Napoli, Campania

Ingredienti

Ingredients

14 servings

For the dough (about 14 balls)

1 l drinkable water
50 g sea salt 50–55 g per litre of water
3 g fresh brewer's yeast
1.8 kg common wheat flour, strength W 220–380 a strong pizza flour

For each Margherita · doesn't change with servings

70 g peeled tomatoes, crushed 60–80 g
salt a pinch, over the tomato
90 g Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO or Mozzarella TSG, sliced 80–100 g
fresh basil leaves a few
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 4–5 g

Preparazione

Method

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Errori comuni

Common mistakes

Using a rolling pin or a press — the specification forbids them: they push the air out of the rim, so it never rises.
Overloading it. The specification weighs the toppings: 60–80 g of tomato and 80–100 g of mozzarella per pizza.
Pouring on the oil: the specification asks for 4–5 g, about a teaspoon.
Leaving the balls to rise overnight in a cool room. The specification's second rise is 4–6 hours at room temperature, with the dough used within 6 hours.

Fuori dall'Italia

Cooking it outside Italy

A home oven reaches about 250–300 °C, not 485 °C, so pizza made at home cannot be called ‘Pizza Napoletana TSG’. To get closest, bake on a preheated pizza steel at the top of the oven, under the grill.
Mozzarella TSG is a protected traditional cow's-milk mozzarella; outside Italy, choose Italian buffalo mozzarella labelled ‘Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO’, and drain it well before slicing.