Gorgonzola and caper frying-pan pizzas recipe
It’s remarkable how good a pizza can be when made in a frying pan – you start it on a hob, finish under a grill, and still achieve a bubbling, bouncy crust. It’s low-effort and quick. Who needs a pizza oven?!* To match the low-tech cooking method, this is also a speedy, unfussy dough: you can have pizzas within an hour of first mixing flour, water and yeast together. You’ll need a 22cm heavy-based frying pan. (*Don’t let my wife read this.)
Timings
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus proving time
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves
4
Ingredients
325ml warm water (half recently boiled, half from the cold tap)
7g easy-bake yeast
500g strong white bread flour/00 flour (I use Caputo), plus extra for dusting
10g salt
400g tomatoes, finely pulped, or passata
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1 small radicchio
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
120g firm mozzarella, coarsely grated
120g Gorgonzola Piccante
2 tbsp capers
Method
Combine the hot and cold water in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast and whisk it in. Add half the flour to the liquid and use a spoon to stir it to a loose slurry. Now add the remaining flour plus the 10g salt, and set the machine to a medium speed for five minutes.
After that time, transfer the tacky dough to a clean surface, then lift and fold it over itself repeatedly for 30-60 seconds, during which time it will become smooth and silky to touch. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover tightly with cling film or an alternative, then leave in a warm place (about 30-35C) – in a cupboard near the boiler, next to a radiator, or even sat in a basin of hot water – so that it doubles in size over 30 minutes.
Once doubled, divide into four pieces, approximately 210g each. Take one, pinch an edge and bring into the middle, repeating as you work round the piece until you have a round dough ball. Place in a tray, repeat with the others, cover tightly with cling film or an alternative and return this to your warm spot for 20 minutes more.
Combine the tomato, half a teaspoon of fine salt and the oregano. Finely shred the radicchio, place in a bowl, then stir in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gather your other toppings, dust a clean surface with a handful of flour, and put your grill on, ensuring there’s a rack set 8-10cm from the bars.
Use your fingertips to push one dough ball into a circle. Then either do your best impression of a pizzaiolo to shape into a thin base slightly bigger than your frying pan, or use a rolling pin.
Put the frying pan over a high heat. Wait for 60 seconds, then carefully drape the base on to the pan. Cook for 60 seconds, then as it begins to bubble up, spread 3-4 spoonfuls of tomato sauce over the surface, leaving a 1-2cm border. Add a quarter of the cheese, a generous scattering of capers and a pinch of the radicchio. Two and a half minutes after the dough first went in the pan, move the pan to under the grill and cook for a further two minutes, until browned and crusty.
Remove from the grill and add more uncooked, dressed radicchio. Repeat with the remaining three dough balls and the rest of the toppings.
