Homemade Caprese pizza
This easy, crazy delicious Caprese pizza is a dream for any pizza lover: crusty bottom and amazing flavors from fresh tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, basil, and flavor-packed extra virgin olive oil. The dough is super easy to make from scratch, all you have to do is mix the ingredients on 1 bowl. Recipe yield 2 large servings.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
NO-KNEAD DOUGH:
- 1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp (210 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ tsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp fine sal
- ¾ cup (180 ml) lukewarm water
- ⅔ Tbsp olive oil
PIZZA TOPPING:
- 3-4 Medium-sized tomatoes, sliced
- (5 oz/140 gr) fresh mozzarella or balls
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) tomato sauce (optional)
- 1 handful Fresh basil
- 1/4 fine salt
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- Mix flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add water, olive oil, and stir with a spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure to gather all the flour. The dough looks sticky with several lumps. You might want to add an extra Tbsp of water if you struggle to incorporate the flour into the water.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic film, and let to rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size and looks bubbly.
- When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, and place the rack in the lowest position, ideally close to the heating element at the bottom of the oven.
- Cut a large piece of parchment paper (if you use a pizza stone). Alternatively, grease or line with parchment paper a large baking pan.
- Scrape the edges of the bowl with a spatula and pour the dough onto the parchment paper. The dough looks fluffy and a bit bubbly you don't want to deflate it. Dust with some flour and, starting from the center, gently press it out with your fingers until you get a large round pizza ready for the topping.
Topping
- Spread some tomato sauce on top and sprinkle some salt. Then arrange mozzarella and tomato slices leaving a couple of inches from the edges. Sprinkle again some salt.
- Once the oven is hot, bake pizza for 15-20 minutes until golden and crusty (do not open the oven door during this time, or the temperature will drop).
- Serve hot with plenty of fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
Notes
MOZZARELLA: I used to buy mozzarella balls from TJ's when I was in the States, and they were perfect for pizza.
WHAT IS THE BEST FLOUR FOR PIZZA DOUGH? All-purpose flour and bread flour are both fine. All-purpose flour has a lower content protein, slightly lower rise, but overall works well in any pizza recipe. Plus, all-purpose flour is cheaper and easily available. WATER ABSORPTION: water absorption is the amount of water taken up by flour and may vary significantly depending on the flour, brand, and weather conditions. That being said, when you add water to the flour, start with the amount stated in the recipe. If the liquid is not enough to achieve that dough consistency as shown in the pictures above, just add gradually a little extra water until the flour has been incorporated. WARM OVEN METHOD: this is a trick to help you to make the dough rise faster. Basically, preheat the oven at low temperature, then turn it off and create a warm environment for the dough to rise in. This shortcut works great when you run out of time.
WHAT IS THE BEST FLOUR FOR PIZZA DOUGH? All-purpose flour and bread flour are both fine. All-purpose flour has a lower content protein, slightly lower rise, but overall works well in any pizza recipe. Plus, all-purpose flour is cheaper and easily available. WATER ABSORPTION: water absorption is the amount of water taken up by flour and may vary significantly depending on the flour, brand, and weather conditions. That being said, when you add water to the flour, start with the amount stated in the recipe. If the liquid is not enough to achieve that dough consistency as shown in the pictures above, just add gradually a little extra water until the flour has been incorporated. WARM OVEN METHOD: this is a trick to help you to make the dough rise faster. Basically, preheat the oven at low temperature, then turn it off and create a warm environment for the dough to rise in. This shortcut works great when you run out of time.