Pizza Bianca with Figs and Prosciutto

Pizza Bianca with Figs and Prosciutto, a seasonal pizza with a combination of flavors taking you out of the pizza comfort zone. The sweet and savory notes of the figs and prosciutto, on a bed of mozzarella, marry beautifully to a crispy pizza crust. Finishing touches, the crunch from the walnuts, and the tanginess of the balsamic glaze. Make tonight your pizza night!

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Pizza Bianca with Figs and Prosciutto

Pizza Bianca is Italian for White Pizza, meaning there is no tomato sauce. As a matter of fact, in true, simple, Italian style, there is no "white sauce" on the crust to compensate for the lack of tomato sauce. Only mozzarella.

This pizza is a delicious way to capture the seasonal figs in all their richness and sweetness. Add in the prosciutto with its salty, dry-cured, melt-in-your-mouth texture and you have a match made in heaven.

Ingredients

• Pizza dough, store bought or homemade.
• Fresh mozzarella, cut into rounds or slivered. Let it drain in a sieve to remove any excess milk.
• Fresh figs, peel on, washed well, and cut into quarters.
• Thyme, optional, however, it does bring in some aromatics.
• Walnuts, again, optional, but go very well with figs and add some crunch.
• San Daniele or Parma prosciutto, thin slices to add at the end when the pizza comes out of the oven.
• Balsamic glaze, a little drizzle compliments all the flavors well.

We are now set for an easy breezy pizza that will be ready in little time to be savored and enjoyed.

Homemade or store bought pizza dough?

In the end, you decide what is best for you. We love our homemade basic pizza dough recipe. When we make it, since you can get three dough balls out of the recipe, we usually freeze one dough ball for later use, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed into a freezer bag.

Frozen pizza dough?

For this particular recipe, we used a frozen homemade pizza dough. We took the dough ball out of the freezer in the morning, unwrapped it, and we re-proofed it, which means we put it in an oiled bowl, covered, and let it defrost slowly and rise once more, in an oven turned off with the light on. This process allows the yeast to work its magic again bringing air and lightness to the mix. You are left with a dough that is very workable and when cooked becomes light and crispy.

Preparation

• First, oil up a pizza pan with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Then, stretch the dough from the center outward, turning the pan so the dough spreads out evenly to the edges of the pan. This takes a bit of work as the dough sometimes wants to contract. When this happens, we usually let the dough rest a bit, and then try again stretching the dough from the center out.

• Secondly, get the oven going so it is nice and hot, around 425° F.
• After that, take the mozzarella slices and spread it all over the dough.
• With figs cut into quarters, they are ready to join the mozzarella. Add a couple of fresh thyme sprigs, if you want, and scatter some walnuts over top.

Final touches

Place this work of art into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until nice and golden on the edges with the mozzarella melted and figs glazed with a bit of caramelization.

Lastly, slide pizza out and add in the slices of prosciutto, letting the heat of the pizza itself, warm the prosciutto. Drizzle the top with some good balsamic glaze, which you can find at any of your Italian stores.

Baking it in an outdoor pizza oven

If you decide to bake your pizza in an outdoor pizza oven, like Ooni for example, the baking times are 5 minutes or less. Stretch the dough on your work surface with semolina flour at the bottom, then transfer it to your pizza peel. Add the mozzarella, thyme and walnuts, and place in the hot oven. Remember to turn the pizza often so the edges don't burn. Take it out and add prosciutto and the balsamic glaze.

Let's have a taste

In conclusion, I cannot tell you how tasty this Pizza Bianca with Figs and Prosciutto is. The crust beautifully crispy and golden brown. Then a layer of melted creamy mozzarella, topped by the figs with their velvety sweet caramelization accompanied by the prosciutto, salty and luscious. The crunch of the walnuts and a drizzle of balsamic glaze bring in such a wonderful finish to the whole. This pizza is a symphony in your mouth. Balanced in flavors and delightful to look at.

Enjoy your pizza night and let us know in the comments if you try this Pizza Bianca with Figs and Prosciutto!

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