Margherita Pizza with 72-Hour Cold-Fermented Dough

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the cold water, then stir in the olive oil. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and mix with your hands until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto an unfloured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 4 equal balls (roughly 210 g each), place each in a lightly oiled container, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 72 hours.

Crush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand into a bowl until coarsely broken down — do not blend smooth. Stir in the minced garlic and 5 g fine sea salt. Set aside at room temperature.

Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator and leave, covered, at room temperature for 2 hours until relaxed and slightly puffed.

Place a baking steel or heavy baking stone on the top rack of your oven and preheat to its maximum setting (typically 275–290°C / 525–550°F) for at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, press one dough ball gently with your fingertips from the centre outward, then stretch it over your knuckles into a 28–30 cm round with a raised border. Avoid a rolling pin, which deflates the crust structure.

Transfer the stretched base to a well-floured pizza peel or the back of a flat baking tray. Spoon 80 g of the crushed tomato sauce over the base, leaving a 2 cm border uncovered.

Slide the pizza onto the preheated steel or stone and bake for 5 minutes until the crust begins to colour at the edges.

Scatter one-quarter of the torn mozzarella over the pizza and continue baking for 2–3 minutes until the cheese is molten with light golden spots and the crust is deeply charred in places.

Remove from the oven, immediately scatter fresh basil leaves over the top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Repeat steps 6–10 for the remaining three pizzas. Serve immediately.