Taleggio & Soppressata Friuli White Pizza – An (almost) Brick Oven Experience

Paggi Pazzo is back from a long hiatus to share my Tallegio, Soppressatta friuli pizza bianca recipe, grilled to perfection (from what I was told). My long desire to build or buy a brick oven pizza has not prevented me from trying to make brick oven like pizza and recently I purchased a pizza kettle grill. The outcome was pretty darn good with the Taleggio melting nicely on the lightly covered olive oil dough and bits of roasted peppers slightly charring over chopped soppressata friuli. Typically pizza bianca found in Rome is topped with little ingredients or not at all so this is more of a Tuscany meets Rome/Lazio recipe (molto piacere, mi chiamo Lazio! 🙂). So let’s get started on Paggi Pazzo’s pizza bianca with soppressata friuli and taleggio chesse, unless of course you have too much time on your hands like these guys.

To start the pizza I make the dough either well before and freeze or prepare that morning letting the dough rest and rise (for best results make the dough on the same day). After the dough is ready, I lightly cover the pizza peel (spatula) with semolina flower to get a nice crunchy texture on the bottom. Drizzle olive oil over the dough with a pinch of salt, pepper, and thyme. Chop Taleggio into little chunks over the pizza, using a pizza cutter slice strips of soppressata friuli and cover generously on the pizza. Then slice Italian roasted peppers (pre-made or store bought) or eggplant or whatever vegetable you like on top.

To get your pizza kettle grill nice and hot, in a charcoal cylander, add charcoal and wood chunks and once grey and ready, dump into grill pit with the pizza kettle already attached and then add a layer of non-lit charcoal and wood chunks (place the pizza stone then on top carefully using gloves not to burn oneself). This will get the fire temperature up to 800-900 degrees in about 5 minutes. Once the fire is ready, slide the taleggio, soppressata friuli pizza bianca on the pizza stone and watch closely. The pizza will cook in 2-3 minutes so using quarter turns, adjust the pizza and turn every 30 seconds until the dough is charred slightly and turns a golden brown. Rest for a few minutes and drizzle olive oil on top of pizza before slicing and serving. Crack open a nice bottle of Nobile di montepulciano or Chianti reserva and enjoy! There you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s taleggio and soppressata friuli pizza bianca, un il bocca lupo!!!

White Pizza with Taleggio & Soppressata friuli Recipe on the Grill

Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 3 hours 5 min
Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Taleggio cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups Molino Caputo tipo 00 flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast
• pinch thyme
• 3/4 cup Italian water
• 4 slices Soppressata friuli
• Handful roasted Italian red pepper sliced OR 1 roasted Italian baby eggplant chopped
• 1 tablespoon Semolina flour

Cooking Directions

1. In order to make dough, heat Italian water in a pot for 2-3 minutes until warm then place in a bowl with salt and stir well for several minutes
2. Add yeast into the bowl and stir for at least 5 minutes until yeast dissolves
3. Add 2 cups of Molino Caputo tipo 00 flour to bowl, pouring slowly as you stir, then a tablespoon of olive oil and continue to stir for at least 10 minutes, until dough begins to turn into an elastic substance
4. Place dough on a cutting board or cooking sheet and cover all sides with a little flour, then cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and place under a bowl for at least 3 hours
5. After 3 hours, take dough and kneed for several minutes, covering with flour as necessary until all air bubbles are removed. Then take dough roller and roll, adding more flour when necessary, to a circular shape but not too thin (dough will likely create at least enough for 2 pizzas so feel free to make another or freeze for another time)
6. Add Semolina flour sprinkled across pizza peel then place dough on top
7. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil across dough with pinch of salt, pepper and thyme then chunks of taleggio cheese, sliced soppressta friuli strips and your choice of roasted peppers or roasted baby eggplant
8. Set up pizza kettle kit on grill, start charcoal fire then when ready add to grill pit with wood chunks on top. Then place pizza stone on pizza kettle kit and cover with top. When temperature exceeds 750 degrees, grill is ready for pizza to be cooked
9. Place pizza on top of pizza stone with pizza peel carefully as pizza grill will be very hot. Once pizza is placed on stone, quarter turns every 30 seconds until pizza is cooked throughout in about 3-4 minutes
10. Remove from grill and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Let rest for a few minutes and then slice and serve