Mushroom Truffle Pizza

Why this formula works

Mushrooms are cooked before topping until their released water has evaporated and their edges brown. This concentrates 200 g mushrooms without soaking the base. Crème fraîche is a thin 80 g layer; truffle oil is just 5 g and goes on after baking so heat does not flatten its aroma.

Honest timing

Ingredients

• mature room-temperature pizza dough ball250 g (8.8 oz)
• cultivated cremini and oyster mushrooms, sliced200 g (7.1 oz)
• olive oil15 g (0.53 oz)
• garlic, finely grated6 g (0.21 oz)
• fresh thyme leaves2 g (0.07 oz)
• crème fraîche80 g (2.82 oz)
• low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated100 g (3.5 oz)
• Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved30 g (1.06 oz)
• truffle oil with a short ingredient list5 g (0.18 oz)
• fine sea salt3 g (0.11 oz)
• coarsely ground black pepper1 g

Equipment

• wide heavy skillet
• pizza steel or stone
• pizza peel
• fine grater
• pizza wheel

Exact method

1. 1. Preheat a steel or stone on the lower-middle rack at maximum heat for 60 minutes. Heat a wide skillet separately over medium-high heat.
2. 2. Add mushrooms to the dry hot skillet in one roomy layer. Cook 3–4 minutes until they release moisture and the pan turns dry.
3. 3. Add 12 g olive oil, garlic, half the thyme, 2 g salt and black pepper. Cook 4–5 minutes until mushroom edges brown; spread on a plate to cool.
4. 4. Open the dough to 28–30 cm, retain the rim, move it to the peel and confirm it slides.
5. 5. Spread crème fraîche thinly to within 1.5 cm of the rim. Add mozzarella, then distribute cooled mushrooms without dumping pan liquid.
6. 6. Bake at 250–300°C / 482–572°F for 5–8 minutes, rotating once, until the underside browns and cheese bubbles.
7. 7. Rest on a rack for 60 seconds. Add Parmigiano shavings and drizzle exactly 5 g truffle oil in fine lines.
8. 8. Finish with remaining thyme, remaining 3 g olive oil and remaining 1 g salt. Cut while the mushroom edges remain crisp.