Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Pizza Components
- 400 g prepared pizza dough, room temperature
- 200 g smoked mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
- 100 g oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, 15ml of the packing oil reserved
- 30 g parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 15 g fresh basil leaves, torn
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 407 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbohydrates
- 54 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fiber
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 1104 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 2 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 14 mg
- Potassium
- 493 mg
- Calcium
- 615 mg
- Iron
- 2.6 mg
- Magnesium
- 42 mg
- Phosphorus
- 417 mg
- Zinc
- 2.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 105 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 26 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.0 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin K
- 16 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.6 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.06 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.27 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 14 mcg
- Water
- 49 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and preheat to 250 degrees Celsius (480 degrees Fahrenheit). Allow the stone to heat for at least 45 minutes.
Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, reserving 15 milliliters of the infused oil. Roughly chop the tomatoes and grate the smoked mozzarella.
Gently stretch the room-temperature pizza dough into a 30 centimeter circle on a piece of parchment paper or a dusted pizza peel, leaving a slightly thicker border for the crust.
Brush the surface of the stretched dough evenly with the reserved sun-dried tomato oil. Distribute the grated smoked mozzarella and chopped sun-dried tomatoes evenly over the oiled base.
Carefully transfer the assembled pizza onto the preheated baking stone. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is deeply golden brown and the cheese is bubbling and blistered.
Remove the pizza from the oven and immediately top with the freshly grated parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil leaves.
Allow the pizza to rest for 3 minutes before slicing to let the hot cheese set slightly and prevent the toppings from sliding off.
Chef's Notes
- Using the infused oil from the sun-dried tomato jar as the base sauce is a highly efficient way to build deep, concentrated umami flavor without adding extra ingredients to your shopping list.
- Smoked mozzarella, often sold as provola affumicata or scamorza, has a naturally lower moisture content than fresh mozzarella. This makes it ideal for high-heat home baking as it melts beautifully without weeping water onto your crust.
- For the best blistered crust in a standard home oven, consider switching your oven to the broil setting during the final 90 seconds of baking to mimic the intense top-heat of a commercial pizza oven.
- Never apply fresh basil before baking a pizza. The delicate leaves will scorch and turn bitter under high heat. Always apply them immediately after the pizza exits the oven so the residual heat gently wilts them and releases their aromatic oils.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store slices in an airtight container layered with parchment paper.
Freezer: 1 month — Wrap slices individually in foil before freezing.
Reheating: Reheat in a 175 C / 350 F oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the crust is crispy and cheese is melted.
Troubleshooting
Dough continuously springs back and resists stretching
Cause: The gluten in the dough is too tight, either from being cold or from recent handling
Fix: Cover the dough with an inverted bowl or damp towel, let it rest for 15 minutes to relax the gluten, then try stretching again
Prevention: Ensure the dough rests at room temperature for at least 1 hour before attempting to stretch
Soggy or pale crust in the center
Cause: Oven was not hot enough or the pizza stone was not given enough time to fully preheat
Fix: Carefully slide the pizza directly onto the lowest oven rack for an additional 2 minutes to crisp the bottom
Prevention: Preheat the oven with the baking surface inside for a full 45 to 60 minutes before baking
Cultural Context
In Italy, pizza making is fundamentally an exercise in restraint, designed to allow a few high-quality ingredients to shine without overwhelming the crust. The use of smoked mozzarella, known as provola affumicata in regions like Campania, brings a rustic, wood-fired aroma to the dish even when baked in a conventional home oven. Pairing this smoky profile with sun-dried tomatoes reflects historic Southern Italian preservation techniques, concentrating the vibrant summer harvest into dense, intensely savory bites.
