A simple tomato sauce with anchovies and capers give this easy pizza its big flavor.
At home we often make Pizza Napoli, which is what we call a Margherita pizza topped with anchovies and capers. This pizza is often called a different name or it may come with black olives as well as the anchovies.
I prefer a very fresh tasting, barely cooked tomato sauce like you find on pizzas in Italy and will only use San Marzano tomatoes, or Pomi or Mutti brands. With a pizza this simple, the ingredients are extra important, so you need to use top quality anchovies and salted capers. We ordered a case of Sicilian anchovies online that we use on this pizza, but you can use any flavorful anchovies you prefer. As for cheese, I change my mozzarella depending on how many pizzas I am making. My husband would prefer a fresh buffalo mozzarella for his pizza and if just the two of us are having pizza I will use it, but if I am making 12 pizzas it would be way too expensive to use buffalo mozzarella so I simply use a regular mozzarella that I grate or slice.
Being true pizza lovers, we have been experimenting with our dough for years. Although I am very happy with my present dough recipe, I have been testing it with healthier grain flours over the past year. If you prefer, you can use spelt or whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose flour. If you cannot find pizza flour or tip “00” flour, you can use 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Feel free to use my suggested pizza dough recipe, or use a store bought pizza dough that you like. I do use a pizza oven to cook our pizzas which takes less than two minutes for each pizza, but you can certainly cook good pizza in your oven on a pizza stone as well.
Print- Yield: 2 personal pizzas 1x
Ingredients
For The Dough: (Makes About 4 Balls)
- 2 Cups Pizza Flour (00 Type Flour)
- 2 Cups All-purpose
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
- 1/2 to 3/4 Cup Warm Water
- 2 Teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (Plus More For Oiling Bowl & Top of Pizza)
Toppings:
- 1 1/3 Cups Prepared Quick Tomato Sauce
- 3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 8 to 10 Small Anchovies
- 2 Tablespoons Salted Capers (Rinsed)
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- Coarse Sea Salt
- Pinch Chili Flakes (Optional)
Instructions
- For the dough, early in the day, mix together the two flours in a large bowl along with the white wine, yeast, salt, and olive oil.
- Slowly add in the warm water, stirring as you go until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Dump the ball out onto a lightly floured surface and using your hands, knead with your hands until the dough is very smooth, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap and let double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Divide the dough up into 8 ounce portions, rolling each in a ball.
- Place two of the balls on a lightly oiled plate and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. (Dough can be made up to 48 hours ahead of time)
- Wrap the extra remaining dough in plastic wrap and freeze for future use.
- Remove the dough balls from the refrigerator 2 1/2 hours before needed, allowing them to completely come to room temperature before using.
- Preheat your oven to the highest setting (usually 500 degrees F.).
- For Each Pizza: On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to press your dough out to a 12 inch circle.
- Lightly cover a baking sheet (or pizza peel if using a pizza stone) with cornmeal, and place the dough on top.
- Lightly brush the outer edges of the pizza with olive oil, and spread the tomato sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border.
- Scatter the mozzarella cheese over each pizza, leaving that 1 inch border clear.
- Arrange half the anchovies and capers over each pizza.
- Sprinkle the oregano, chili flakes (if using) and sea salt over the pizzas, then bake each pizza until bubbly and golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Slice & enjoy!
- Category: Main, Primi, Starter
- Cuisine: Italian
Napoli Pizza looks really delicious. I would try that someday:)
★★★★