Today, we’re diving into the delicious world of homemade stuffed crust pizza. If you’re a fan of gooey cheese and crispy crusts, then you’re in for a treat. Whether you’re hosting a pizza night with friends or simply indulging in a cozy night in, this recipe is sure to impress. Experiment with different cheese blends and toppings to customize your pizza to your liking.

Ingredients

For the pizza dough

500g extra fine flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry active yeast (not instant)
1 teaspoon of sugar
325ml of warm water (temperature should be between 25-35 degrees)
oil for greasing

Pizza toppings

225g of grated mozzarella
tandoori chicken cut into cubes
4 mushrooms sliced
1/4 red onion sliced
1/4 red and yellow pepper sliced

Herb Butter

handful of finely chopped coriander
60g butter
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Top Tips

Salt and yeast are not friends so make sure the yeast is evenly distributed throughout the flour at the beginning, or else it could be the reason your dough doesn’t rise!
Preheat your oven to 30°C and then turn it off, this is the perfect temperature for your dough to double in size in 2 and a half hours. Otherwise it could take 4 hours!
Buy a Pizza Stone and preheat it in the oven so that your base and crust becomes super crispy. This is essential!!

Method

Begin by adding the warm water to a jug, temperature should be between 25-35 degrees! Add in your dry active yeast and sugar, give it a whisk and set aside. If your yeast is active it should bubble on the surface after 10-15 minutes!
Add the extra fine flour and salt into the bowl of your stand-mixer. Whisk the salt and flour together to make sure the salt is evenly distributed throughout the flour.
Pour in the bloomed yeast mixture and set to knead on a medium speed for 10 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 30°C and then turn it off, this is the perfect temperature for your dough to double in size in 2 and a half hours. Otherwise it could take 4 hours!
Grease a bowl with some olive oil and make sure your hands are greasy too before handling the dough
Transfer the dough into your greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Place in the oven to double in size.
Once doubled in size, tip out onto a floured surface and perform a couple of stretch and folds before shaping into a smooth ball. Make sure your hands are floured! Divide in half using a pastry scraper or a butter knife. Place the 2 dough balls onto a tray lined dusted with flour and cover with a tea towel and allow to prove for 30 minutes.
Place the pizza stones in the oven at 180°C
Once the dough balls have proved, dust a pizza peel with a generous amount of semolina and plain flour and roll each dough ball into about 1.5cm thickness. You want to do this on a pizza peel so that you can easily transfer it onto your pizza stones and the semolina and flour prevent the base from sticking! Do not make directly on the pizza stone as they will need to preheat in the oven for a crispy base!
Once rolled out, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly around the edge of the dough, leaving about an inch of space from the edge.
Carefully fold the edge of the dough over the cheese, pinching it together to seal in all that cheesy goodness. You may need to gently stretch the dough to cover the cheese completely.
Now its time for the toppings! Begin with a dollop of marinara sauce then some mozzarella cheese, any toppings you like and more cheese!
Transfer your stuffed crust pizza onto your pizza stone
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling and melted.
Whilst the pizza is baking, whisk together the melted butter, chopped coriander and crushed garlic.
Once your pizza is done baking, remove it from the oven and immediately brush the crust with the garlic herby butter!
Let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and enjoy!

Now that’s enough from me, it’s time to get onto the recipe! Don’t forget to check out the recipes below for some more incredible Italian recipes!