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The World’s Best Pizza Margherita

“This is the recipe I used when competing at the Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza (Pizza World Championship) which was held in Parma, Italy. It was there and for this pizza that I was awarded the title of world’s top Margherita Pizza!” Johnny Di Francesco

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INGREDIENTS
220g (8oz) Pizza Dough (recipe below)
50g (2oz) Buffalo Mozzarella, sliced
60g (2 1⁄2 oz) San Marzano tomatoes, peeled and crushed
4 fresh basil leaves
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

METHOD
1 Roll out the pizza dough on to a baking tray or bench for stone cooking.
2 Spread the San Marzano tomatoes over the dough.
3 Top with the Buffalo Mozzarella, place four basil leaves on top and drizzle with some extra
virgin olive oil.
4 For a domestic oven, bake for 10 minutes at 250-280°C and for a wood fire oven bake for 90 seconds at 400°C

Pizza Napoletana Dough

Makes 10–12 bases

INGREDIENTS
1.7kg (4lb) flour (005 Stagioni Pizza Napoletana flour with a W280–330)
1 litre (2 pints) water
50g (2oz) fine sea salt 1–3g fresh yeast

METHOD
1 Weigh out all the ingredients.
2 Using a dough mixer mix together the water and the salt. If you don’t have a machine mixer this recipe works just as well by hand, simply follow the same process as instructed below but knead by hand.
3 Start the dough mixer and then add 20% of the flour and mix.
4 Mix for 5 minutes, then add the yeast. Gradually add the remaining flour and allow to combine. Once the dough has combined and seems smooth, stop the mixer, remove the dough and put aside to rest, cover with a cloth. Total mixing time, approximately 20 minutes. Final Dough temperature, 23–24°C (73–74°F).
5 Allow the dough to rest for approximately 2 hours, covered well at a temperature of +20°C/68°F.
6 Portion into desired dough size.
7 Round each dough piece into dough balls.
8 Place the dough balls into a sealed container, allow them to rest and rise naturally in a room no warmer than 16–18°C (60–64°F). Allow the dough to rest between 8-12 hours.

Recipe and images from ‘World’s Best Pizza’ by Johnny Di Francesco, published by New Holland Publishers

Robyn Foyster: Robyn Foyster is a multi-award-winning journalist, media executive, and the owner and publisher of The Carousel, alongside the Women Love Network (which includes Women Love Wellness, Women Love Travel, and Women Love Tech). At the forefront of digital lifestyle and tech publishing, Robyn was named the 2025 Winner of the Samsung IT Journalism Award for Best Corporate Content and is a 2026 Lizzies Finalist. Voted one of B&T’s 30 Most Powerful Women In Media, she previously served as the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Australia’s three biggest flagship magazines—The Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, and New Idea—and was a senior executive at the Seven Network. A sought-after speaker and an eight-year judge for the Telstra Business Awards, Robyn remains dedicated to championing women's voices across lifestyle, wellness, and technology.
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