Slow-rising dough, homemade tomato sauce, black olives, dried powdered capers dusted on top, sweet oregano, double-cheese mozzarella and burrata.
The crust is a mixed yeast dough - I used my sourdough starter with the addition of a tiny amount of dried yeast to get a slightly thicker crust - just the way I like it.
Instructions
For the base:
Make the “biga” (aka the pre-ferment - different from poolish as poolish is generally wet while biga is quite dry)
To a bowl, add:
40g sourdough starter
2g dried yeast
270g water
600g all purpose flour
Mix until there are no lumps. Cover with a towel and proof for 12-14 hours in a warm, dry place.
The next day, transfer the “biga” to a clean surface and add:
120g all purpose flour
5g honey, malt or molasses
190g water
15g salt
25g extra virgin olive oil
Knead to smooth and transfer to baking tray, stretching to the desired thickness. Keep in mind you are going to proof the dough again so you want to go for a thinner dough as it’s going to rise a fair bit.
This dough should yield 2 12-inch pizzas (or larger if you prefer a thinner crust).
Set aside, covered and proof for another 2 hours. In the meantime, prepare the toppings:
For the Tomato Sauce:
Cook on very low flame for 45 mins until oil separates:
250g chopped tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
A few basil leaves chopped
Note: you want the sauce to be very thick, no watery stuff!!
For the Dried Powdered Capers
Pre-heat the oven to 150C
Rinse under running water 125g capers preserved in salt. Try to remove as much salt as possible.
Bake for around 1.5 hours and then grind to a powder. Store in a jar and use to sprinkle on pizza and many other savoury dishes.
Now bake the pizza
Once the dough is proofed for the second time, pre-heat oven to 250C.
Top the pizza with:
Tomato sauce
125g sliced fresh mozzarella
A drizzle of olive oil
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and lastly top with sliced burrata (no need to bake this), black olives, dried oregano, and powdered capers.
Enjoy!
