Thin-Crust White Pizza
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen.
This thin, blistered crust skips tomato sauce for a garlicky ricotta-cream base that bakes rich and bubbling under melted mozzarella and pecorino. A long cold ferment gives the dough real flavour and a chewy-crisp bite once it hits a very hot stone.
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Method
- 1
Mix the dough. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and yeast until combined, about 2 seconds. With the machine running, pour the ice water through the feed tube and process until a rough dough forms with no dry flour left, about 10 seconds. Let it stand in the bowl for 10 minutes.
- 2
Knead and chill. Add the vegetable oil and fine salt and process until the dough forms a smooth, sticky ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 30-60 seconds. Turn it out onto a lightly oiled counter and knead briefly by hand until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape into a tight ball, set in an oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
- 3
Make the sauce. Whisk together the ricotta, olive oil, cream, egg yolk, garlic, scallions (reserving the dark green tops), fine salt, pepper, cayenne, oregano and thyme in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- 4
Shape and rise. About an hour before baking, set an oven rack in the second-highest position, about 10-13 cm below where the broiler element sits, put a pizza stone on it, and heat the oven to 260 °C (240 °C fan). Take the dough from the fridge, divide it in half, and shape each half into a smooth, tight ball. Set the balls on an oiled baking sheet at least 7-8 cm apart, cover loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- 5
Stretch and top. Coat one dough ball generously with flour and set it on a well-floured counter. Flatten it with your fingertips into a 20 cm disk, leaving the outer 2.5 cm slightly thicker than the centre. Lift the edge and use the backs of your hands and knuckles to gently stretch it into a 30 cm round, giving it a quarter-turn as you work. Move the dough to a well-floured pizza peel and stretch it further into a 33 cm round. Spread half the ricotta sauce in a thin layer over the dough, leaving a bare 0.5 cm border. Scatter over half the pecorino, then half the mozzarella, and dot half the remaining ricotta over the top in teaspoon-sized dollops.
- 6
Bake. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake until the crust is well browned and the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes, rotating it halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack, scatter with some of the reserved scallion greens, and rest 5 minutes before slicing. Shape, top and bake the second pizza the same way.
Storage
Best eaten the day it's baked. Refrigerate leftover slices in an airtight container for up to 2 days and reheat in a hot oven or dry pan until the cheese is bubbling again. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.5 g protein per 100 kcal, about 14% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low sugars: 3.4 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 148 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
4.2 g per serving
8.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 16.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- food processor
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- plastic wrap
- baking sheet
- pizza stone
- pizza peel
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- fine grater
- wire rack
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 676 kcal |
| Protein | 23.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 71.1 g |
| of which sugars | 5 g |
| of which free sugars | 4.2 g |
| Fat | 32.6 g |
| of which saturates | 14.2 g |
| Fibre | 2.5 g |
| Salt | 2.75 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.5 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
