Bruschetta Pizza
In this amazing bruschetta pizza the crispy crust is topped with mozzarella, juicy summer tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and olive oil. Crispy, fresh, juicy, garlicky, AND SO GOOD.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 1 easy pizza dough (or your fav dough)
Bruschetta pizza topping
- 2 (125 grams each) mozzarella balls packed in water (or shredded low moisture mozzarella)*
- ¾ lb (340 grams) ripe tomatoes at room temperature, diced*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½ teaspoon fine salt (plus extra sea salt flakes to serve, optional)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon grated garlic, use more if you wish
- 3 tablespoons basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
Pizza dough
- Follow the easy no-knead pizza recipe through step 5, including shaping the pizza and preheating the oven.
Mozzarella topping
- Prepare the cheese: if using fresh mozzarella in water, slice or dice it and place it on a kitchen towel or kitchen paper. Add another folded piece of paper towel on top, pat it dry to absorb excess moisture let it dry for at least 10 minutes.
- Make the bruschetta topping: using a sharp serrated knife and a chopping board, cut the tomatoes into small neat cubes and place them in a bowl with basil, garlic (start with ½ tsp and adjust to taste), olive oil and salt and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Shape the dough: when the dough is ready follow step 5, place the paper sheet or parchment paper onto a pizza peel or onto the back of a rimmed baking sheet. Then place the dough on this parchment paper, and starting from the center, gently press it out with your fingers until you get approx a 9×13 inch pizza and top with diced mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil before baking.
- Bake the pizza: when the oven is hot, use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the mozzarella cheese and crust are nicely browned, approx 15 minutes. But each oven is different, keep an eye on it (e.g. in a forced fan oven it will take about 8-10 minutes).
- Serve: loosely drain the bruschetta mixture and scatter it evenly over the freshly baked pizza, sprinkle some salt on top, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and add fresh basil leaves. Slice, serve immediately, enjoy!
Notes
Shredded low moisture mozzarella: use about 2 cups (approx 7oz/200 grams) grated low moisture mozzarella for this recipe, but trust your judgment, add a bit more if you like.
What to use instead of a pizza stone? A rimmed baking sheet or a large cookie sheet that you can invert it and place on the lowest shelf of your oven work fine. When the baking sheet is right-side up, taking the pizza in and out of the oven will be easier and the preheated baking sheet will make a nice and crisp pizza crust.
How to measure flour? I use both US cups and grams. The cups of flour are leveled, which means you have to fill the measuring cup all the way to the top letting the flour flow over a little. Then, use the back of a knife to level the top off. But a digital scale is an excellent kitchen tool and gives a more correct weight.
Bruschetta pizza leftovers: cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator up to 1 day. Reheat the pizza leftovers in the preheated the oven (350 F/180 C) and bake for about 8 minutes or until warmed through, crispy and the cheese is melted.