I posted my pizza dough recipe a few weeks ago, so I thought I would post my favorite way to use it.

For this recipe, as well as other pizza recipes, you will need a pizza pan or some sort of round, flat pan. The one I use is from Sur La Table and can be found here.

The best thing about this pizza recipe, is that it bakes in less than 15 minutes. And it smells amazing while it’s baking.

As usual, I just wanted to post a picture of some of the ingredients I use. Since it’s still freezing outside and fresh herbs are not readily available, I use dried herbs on my pizza. The herbs I use are from Penzeys Spices and I highly recommend their products.

For slicing the tomatoes for this pizza, I use a very sharp paring knife to slice them in thin slices. (pictured above)

Margherita Pizza:
This recipe was created by me, based off of my taste and many recipes I’ve seen.
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Baking Time: 10-15 minutes

• 1 – 1lb. pizza dough, here is my recipe
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 8oz. of mozzarella, thinly sliced or cut into small cubes
• A few sprinkles each of fresh or dried oregano, rosemary, and basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• A few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil

1. If you’re using freshly made dough, skip to step 2. If you are using frozen pizza dough, take the dough out of the freezer 4-5 hours before you plan to use it. Leave it in a bowl on the counter, loosely wrapped in plastic wrap.

2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Prep all ingredients; slice tomatoes and mozzarella.

3. Oil your pizza pan. Shape the dough, pictured above.

*This will take some practice for those who have never done it before. The goal is to have a round shape with even thickness all over and no holes, but that doesn’t normally happen. Just take your time and shape it the best you can; I’ve had some misshapen pizzas and *cough* might have thrown a few balls of dough in the past.

4. Drizzle a few teaspoons of olive oil on the dough and spread it around. Evenly, salt and pepper to taste and add a few sprinkles of oregano and rosemary. *pictured above* Bake for about 5 minutes and then remove from the oven.

5. Place the tomatoes all over the pizza and then add the mozzarella slices on top. Once again, evenly salt and pepper to taste and add a few sprinkles of basil. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for another 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown a little.

6. Let cool for 5 minutes and then cut however you would like. Enjoy!

*Watch out for more ways to use my pizza dough recipe. Feel free to leave a comment or question and let me know if you try this recipe.