White Pizza with Green Olives and Garlic Oil

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Dough base

1. 1
   In a bowl, mix the flour, yeast and water until no dry flour remains; cover and let rest 20 minutes.

   Bowl

   💡A 20-minute rest before adding the salt lets the flour soak up the water, and the dough turns smooth with almost no kneading.
2. 2
   Add the salt and the olive oil and Knead about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretches without tearing.

   ⚙ KneadingBowlStand mixer

   💡For yeast dough, use the windowpane test: a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing, and that's the sign the kneading is done. Add flour only by the tablespoon, and only if the dough is still sticky after a few minutes: too much flour makes a tough dough.
3. 3
   Cover and leave about 1 hour at room temperature, then move to the fridge for 24 up to 48 hours.

   Refrigerator

   💡In a long cold rise the yeast works slowly: the dough develops deep flavor and stretch, and the edges puff into large bubbles. That is why a little yeast is enough.
4. 4
   Two hours before baking, divide into balls, cover and leave at room temperature until soft and puffy.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 5
   Heat the olive oil with the garlic over low heat about 2 minutes, just until the garlic softens and smells fragrant, and remove from the heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan

   💡The garlic should soften, not brown: brown garlic turns bitter, and the bitterness stays in the oil.

To assemble

1. 6
   Preheat the oven to 240–250°C (465–480°F), with a baking stone inside.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡A home oven doesn't reach the heat of a professional pizza oven, but you can get close: preheat the oven to its maximum temperature (250°C (480°F)+) with a pizza stone or an upside-down baking sheet inside for at least 45 minutes before baking.

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 7
   Roll out the dough (or stretch it by hand) into a thin round on a floured surface and transfer to parchment paper.

   ⚙ Rolling Out DoughRolling pinParchment paper

   💡Pizza dough that doesn't shrink: when the dough shrinks back as you roll it, let it rest covered for 5 minutes. The gluten needs to 'relax'. After that it will roll out easily.

   💡For crisp homemade pizza dough: after rising, don't roll it out with a rolling pin but stretch it gently by hand. Stretching by hand keeps the air bubbles formed during rising and creates an authentic bubbly crust.

   💡Let the pizza dough rise for 24 hours in the fridge (a long cold rise) — the dough develops a deeper flavor and an airy texture with big bubbles.

   💡3 cups of flour (about 400 g) make 2–3 thin pizzas: divide the dough into balls before rolling, rather than stretching it all into one thick pizza.

   💡Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
3. 8
   Spread a thin layer of sauce, leaving a 1 cm border.

   💡Preheat the oven to its maximum with a baking stone or an upside-down baking sheet. Pizza dough should be at room temperature. Spread a thin layer of sauce - too much sauce will make the dough soggy.
4. 9
   Scatter the mozzarella, Parmesan, olives and oregano over the top.
5. 10
   Slide the pizza on its paper onto the hot stone and bake 7–9 minutes, until the edges are golden and the cheese bubbles.

   OvenBaking stone (pizza stone)Parchment paper