This Calabrese pizza highlights the wonderful flavors of Southern Italy - olives, anchovies and capers with a hint of heat. It's the perfect combination of easy homemade crust and super tasty topping!
1(14ounces/400 grams) can whole tomatoes(preferably San Marzano)
15(1 cup/150 grams) black olives
2tablespoonscapers
10anchovies in oil
1teaspoonoregano
½teaspoonred pepper (chilli) flakes
½teaspoon salt
Garlic oil
⅓cupextra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
To serve
Parmesan or Romano pecorino cheese
red pepper (chilli) flakes(optional)
fresh basil
Instructions
Make the dough
Mix together warm water, yeast and honey. Set aside 10 minutes or until bubbles form.
Using the dough hook on the stand mixer (or use your hands), add flour to the water/yeast mixture and combine until mixture comes together. Stand 5 minutes.
Add oil and salt and continue to mix for 5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand) until smooth and elastic. The dough should just stick to the bottom of the bowl but not the sides. If it sticks to the sides, it's too wet - a a little extra flour. If it lifts from the bottom of the bowl, it's too dry - add a little water.
Remove from stand mixer onto work surface and split into four. Knead each piece by hand for a couple of minutes and then shape each into a ball. Place balls onto a large, oiled baking sheet. Turn the dough over so all surfaces are oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1½-2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
If you are using pizza stones, put them in the oven. Preheat oven to 480ºF/250ºC.
The dough balls may have joined but that's ok. Use a plastic dough scraper or butter knife to carefully separate and lift one of the balls.
Use some semolina to dust the dough and the work surface to stop it sticking. Then with your fingers, press down each ball of dough, leaving the edge puffy. Gently pull and stretch until about 9 inches (23cm).
There are two ways I like to bake pizzas. The first way is to prepare the pizza on a flat, aluminium pizza pan. Aluminium conducts heat very well. Alternatively, prepare the pizza on parchment (non stick baking) paper then using a baking sheet, you can slide the pizza together with the paper onto the preheated pizza stone in the oven.
Whichever method of baking you choose, carefully pick up the dough and place onto either aluminium pizza pan or parchment (non stick baking) paper. You may need to reshape it a little.
Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Brush pizza bases with garlic oil and set aside for 30 minutes or until puffy.
Divide topping among the four bases.
Depending on the size of your oven, you can probably cook two pizzas at a time for 8-13 minutes until golden brown and the crust is crispy (if you have a larger oven you may be able to do more). After 5 minutes, check if they are cooking evenly. If not spin pizzas around.
Take the pizzas out of the oven and put the last pizza in.
While the last pizza is cooking, drizzle the cooked pizzas with garlic oil. Then scatter with lots of grated Parmesan cheese, drizzle with extra garlic oil and red pepper (chilli) flakes, if desired. Repeat with the remaining cooked pizza.
Scatter with fresh basil then cut into wedges, squares or however you prefer.
Tomato topping
Peel and finely chop the garlic. Add to a skillet with extra virgin olive oil and gently cook over low-medium heat.
When the garlic is aromatic but still pale (don't let it color or burn), add canned whole tomatoes and crush well with a fork. Simmer for 5 minutes.
While the tomatoes are cooking, coarsely chop the anchovies and de-stone olives and cut in half.
Add remaining topping ingredients and simmer for a further 3-5 minutes. Don't let it reduce too much.
Garlic oil
Combine oil with garlic. Set aside until needed.
Notes
The key to this Calabrese pizza is the tomato sauce. Unlike most pizzas, all the toppings are cooked together together with the tomato. This means that all the flavors really combine and each mouthful has is complete.
Don't be afraid to crank up the heat. This will ensure a crispy crust. If you have a pizza stone, put it in and heat for about 30 minutes.
I recommend you shape the dough by pressing and stretching it into shape. Don't use a rolling pin.
Use some semolina to dust the dough. Then press down each ball of dough, leaving the edge puffy. Gently pull and stretch until about 9 inches (23cm).
There are two ways I like to bake these Calabrese pizzas. The first way is to prepare the pizza on a flat, aluminium pizza pan. Aluminium conducts heat very well. Alternatively, prepare the pizza on parchment (non stick baking) paper then using a baking sheet, you can slide the pizza together with the paper onto the preheated pizza stone in the oven.
Whatever you do, don't overload the toppings otherwise the crust will be soggy. Don't forget to brush the crust with the garlic oil, you'll lovely flavor and color.
Most ovens don't cook evenly, so check halfway through and spin the pizza if necessary.
Finally, be generous with the grated Parmesan, drizzle with garlic oil and just before serving add a scattering of basil.
Why didn't the dough rise?There could be a few reasons. The yeast may be stale. Don't miss the first step where we mix the yeast with the water and honey. The bubbly mixture means the yeast is active. Otherwise the dough may not have been in a warm spot. This means the dough will take longer to rise. Just shift to a warmer spot and wait.What do I do if the dough is rising too fast and I'm not ready to cook?That's fine. Just put the dough in the fridge to slow down the rise.Can this dough be prepared the day before?Sure! After forming the balls, arrange on the baking sheet. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature (4-5 hours). Then keep going from Step 5.Can this dough be frozen?Yes. After the first rise, deflate and reform into four balls. Coat lightly in olive oil and pop into a zip lock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, take out of the bags, set on baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and allow to come to room temperature and begin rising. This will take much longer than you think - 4-5 hours. If the dough is cold it won't rise. Continue with the recipe from Step 5.