White Pizza with Smoked Salmon

The dough base

1. Make the yeast pizza dough following a simple, easy recipe. Once the dough has risen, knead it briefly and stretch it into a flatbread 5-7 mm thick. Lay the dough on the pan, first greasing it lightly with vegetable oil. Be sure to prick the dough with a fork in several places.

   

2. Let the dough rise on the pan. I prefer pizza bianca on a fluffy, soft dough, so let the dough stand on the pan under a towel for about 30 mins. The dough will rise further.

Topping and sauce

3. While the dough rests, prepare the topping. Cut the smoked salmon into very thin slices. You can often buy it already sliced, which is even more convenient. Either way, you must remove absolutely every bone.

   

   Cut the pitted olives, green or black, in half lengthwise. Cut the mozzarella balls in half, or if the mozzarella is one large piece, slice it into thin slabs. Pick the leaves off the basil and throw the stems away. Grate the Parmesan on a fine grater. Scald the tomato with boiling water, peel it and cut it into thin slices; you do not need to remove the seeds. Even though this is a white pizza, a fresh tomato fits the topping very well.

4. Make the sauce. In a blender, process 2 tbsp of grated Parmesan (14 g) and the basil leaves. You can keep a few leaves to decorate the finished pizza. Add a pinch of salt and 2-3 pinches of dried oregano and mix. Wait 2-3 mins for the salt to dissolve, then add 2 tbsp of olive oil.

   

Assembling the pizza

5. Brush the prepared dough with the sauce of olive oil, Parmesan and basil. Brush the middle especially well and the edges only a little, so the pizza bianca browns nicely.

   

6. Scatter pieces of mozzarella over the brushed dough, without trying too hard to cover the whole pizza with cheese slices. The mozzarella spreads out nicely as it bakes.

   

7. Arrange the topping: first the thinly sliced fresh tomato and the olive halves.

   

   Then add the thinly sliced boneless smoked salmon and press the pizza down lightly with your palms.

   

8. Add the apple. Peel a small, slightly tart apple, best of all a Simirenko Reinette, remove the seeds, and either grate the flesh on a coarse grater over the pizza or cut it into thin, almost transparent slices and arrange them on top. The apple is a must, as it improves the flavor considerably. A completely unexpected effect!

   

9. Sprinkle the whole pizza with the remaining grated Parmesan.

   

Baking

10. Put the pizza in an oven preheated to 200°C and bake for up to 20 mins. Since every oven bakes differently, check the dough after 15 mins by lifting an edge. As soon as the bottom starts to brown, the pizza is fully done.

Serving

11. Slice the finished pizza. If you like, scatter a few fresh basil leaves over it, and the white pizza with salmon will taste even better. Cut it into 6-8 pieces with a pizza wheel.

    

12. Serve the salmon pizza hot and do not leave it for tomorrow. Any pizza tastes best freshly made, straight from the oven.

    

    A tasty white pizza can be made with any smoked fish, or even without it. A vegetarian pizza bianca is perfectly fine too, and if you like, you can skip the mozzarella: a simple topping of sauce, olives and tomato works well.