Description
This Zucchini Pizza recipe is a delicious twist on a traditional favorite, featuring a flavorful zucchini topping on a homemade crust. Perfect for a family dinner or entertaining guests.
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough
- 406 grams bread flour or 3 1/4 cups
- 2 grams instant yeast or half teaspoon
- 8 grams fine sea salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 4 grams sugar or 1 teaspoon
- 260 grams cold water 9 ounces
- 14 grams olive oil or 1 tablespoon
For the zucchini pizza
- 1 24 ounce dough ball from recipe above
- 1/2 cup olive oil divided
- 4 medium zucchini sliced into thin rounds
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 12 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 packed cup basil leaves
- 1 lemon zested for finishing
Instructions
- For the dough – Place water in a bowl large enough to hold both the water and all the dry ingredients and still have room to spare. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl. Add dry ingredients to water a bit at a time and mix thoroughly to form a dry rough mass. Pour the oil over the dough, mix again to scrape off any dough residue stuck to the side of the bowl, and place the rough shaggy dough onto a work surface. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, place a clean bowl inverted over the dough and wait 30 minutes before resuming. Return to kneading (just make sure to knead for at least a total of 5 minutes). Place the bowl over the dough once more and let sit for 30-40 minutes to warm up before forming the dough ball. After 40 minutes pull the dough towards its end repeatedly to form a smooth ball. Pinch the seam side and place the dough ball seam side down into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 but ideally 24 hours before using.
- For the zucchini pizza – Take the dough out of the fridge at least 1 hour prior to using. Do not uncover the bowl. Oil the bottom of a Grandma pizza pan or half sheet pan with a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it into the pan. With your fingertips begin pressing the dough into the corners of the pan. If needed, oil your fingertips to help with the sticky dough. You will not be able to do this in one attempt. Place plastic over the pan and let the dough warm up for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, generously salt the zucchini slices in a colander or spread out in a sheet pan to encourage the release of water. After 45-60 minutes rinse the zucchini then pat very dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the remaining olive oil and set aside. After 45 minutes remove the plastic and again try to stretch the pizza dough to the size of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat the process one more time until the dough has completely filled the pan. Cover the dough and set aside. Preheat oven to 450f and set one rack to the lowest level of the oven and one to the highest. Remove the plastic from the pan and if required press the dough into the edges. Starting by holding or pressing one of the corners. Layer the mozzarella cheese onto the corner to hold it in place. In an overlapping shingle pattern, leaving the outside 1/2 inch uncovered, layer the mozzarella until the pizza is completely covered. Next, distribute the dried zucchini slices all over the pizza in an overlapping pattern. Drizzle the garlic oil on top of the pizza. Place the pizza onto the lowest rack and cook for 10 minutes rotating the pan 180 degrees at the halfway point. After 10 minutes remove the pizza from the oven and check the bottom for browning. If the pizza is well-browned, bake on the top rack for 8 more minutes. Otherwise, leave the pizza on the bottom rack for 8 more minutes. After 18 minutes of baking remove the pizza. Sprinkle with the Pecorino Romano. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 2-4 more minutes or until crisp. The total cooking time will be approximately 20-22 minutes. Remove the zucchini pizza from the pan and let cool for a couple of minutes on a wire rack. Sprinkle the basil leaves and lemon zest on top of the pizza before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute 24 ounces of store-bought pizza dough.
- Salting the zucchini to release water is very important. Don’t skip this step!
- Cooking time will vary depending on the exact oven temp. After 10 minutes of cooking on the lowest rack, the pizza’s bottom should be golden brown and crisp. If it’s still blond, the pizza should be cooked for the remaining 8-10 minutes on the lowest rack. Ovens vary quite a lot!
- Sheet pan pizzas need a lot of oil. More than you think! The oil helps develop the amazing crispy bottom, so please use enough of it.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days, and the pizza can be reheated at 350f on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until hot.
- Bakers Percentages: 64% hydration, .4% yeast, 2% salt, 3.4% oil, 1.2% sugar
- Thickness Factor (TF): .127
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 542 kcal
- Sugar: 1.6g
- Sodium: 660mg
- Fat: 31.7g
- Saturated Fat: 11.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42.8g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 21.5g
- Cholesterol: 53mg
