Best 4 Chef John Pizza Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, butter, and olive oil for the crust in a large bowl. Blend butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, pour egg into the well, and mix with a fork until egg is mixed in, about 1 minute. Add cold water and mix briefly with a fork. Switch to mixing with your hands and press mixture into a ball. If it seems dry, sprinkle in some more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough comes together.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and press into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, combine drained ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, black pepper, beaten eggs, cooked Italian sausage, smoked ham, salami, and pepperoni for the filling. Mix thoroughly until extremely well combined; don't worry about overmixing. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Rub a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and dust with flour.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and set aside for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the bottom crust, using only as much flour as needed, into a 15-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared pan. Tuck the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, being careful not to stretch it. Remove any excess dough, dampen it with water, and use it to fill in where needed.
• Transfer filling into the pan, press firmly into the edges to ensure there are no air pockets, and smooth out the top.
• Roll remaining dough into a circle that's slightly wider than the pan. Roll dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the pan. Position the top crust properly and press to seal it with the side edges.
• Mix egg and water for egg wash together in a small bowl.
• Brush egg wash on top of dough to moisten entire surface. Trim off excess dough if desired. Fold the side dough down from the pan edges onto the top crust and crimp edges with your fingertips until fully sealed. Brush once more with egg wash.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until top crust is a beautiful golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the ring and let cool another 15 minutes before slicing into wedges.

CHEF JOHN'S POURABLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place flour in mixing bowl with dry yeast, salt, honey, olive oil, and warm water. Whisk together for about 5 minutes. This will be a very thin batter-like dough. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Dough should be bubbly. Stir with a ladle to eliminate the bubbles.
• Generously oil a cast-iron skillet with olive oil off heat. Pour batter in a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag with a bottom corner snipped. Slowly pour the batter into the skillet starting from the center of the pan and working in circles toward the edge. Try to avoid mixing batter with the oil. If small bubbles of oil appear on the surface, use the tip of a paring knife to gently stir them into the dough.
• Place pan over medium-high heat. Wait for the dough to form bubbles over the entire top surface and the crust starts to dry out a bit. Flip over and continue cooking one side and the next. The bubbly side should be dry and achieve a golden brown color; the bottom should be well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes total per side. Doneness times will depend on how thickly the batter was poured. Remove from heat.
• Spread with pizza sauce and top with your favorite pizza toppings: mozzarella cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, pepperoni, etc. Try to avoid topping too heavily.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Place pizza under broiler until toppings are cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.

CHEF JOHN'S SAUSAGE AND EGG PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
• Cook and stir sliced Italian sausage in a skillet over medium heat until some of the fat has rendered out and sausage is no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes. Transfer sausage slices to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Roll pizza dough out to about 12 inches in diameter and about 3/8-inch thick; sprinkle with cornmeal. Flip dough so the cornmeal side is down and transfer to a perforated 14-inch pizza pan.
• Spread pizza sauce in a thin layer on top of the dough. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and about 3/4 the Fontina cheese. Spread sausage slices onto the pizza, leaving 4 spaces about 3 inches across on the pizza for eggs. Sprinkle remaining Fontina cheese onto sausage slices.
• Bake in the preheated oven until dough is hot, edges are starting to brown, and cheese has started to melt, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Crack each egg into a separate ramekin or small bowl. Remove pizza from oven and use a spatula to press the spaces between sausage slices flat. Gently pour an egg onto each space. Grind a little black pepper onto each egg yolk. Lightly sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over entire pizza.
• Return to oven and bake until eggs are set but yolks are still liquid, about 5 minutes, checking frequently to avoid overcooking eggs. Toss arugula leaves with olive oil in a bowl until coated. Remove pizza from oven, poke egg yolks with a fork, spread them around a little, and sprinkle arugula over the top of the pizza. Cut into 4 quarters, each with an egg, to serve.

CHEF JOHN'S CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Puree cauliflower in a food processor until finely ground.
• Cook ground cauliflower, water, and salt together in a skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and most of the water evaporates, 5 to 6 minutes. Cool completely.
• Transfer cauliflower to the center of a clean dish towel. Wrap and squeeze tightly to remove all excess moisture. You should have about 1 1/2 cups cauliflower pulp.
• Stir cauliflower, goat cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, egg, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl to form a soft dough. Gather dough into a ball and place in the center of the prepared baking sheet. Press dough into circle about 1/4-inch thick.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and set, about 40 minutes. Cool and turn crust over before topping.