Why this formula works
The recipe keeps a full 100 g tomato base but controls every salty, wet topping. Capers are rinsed, olives drained, anchovies blotted and mozzarella dried. Thirty grams of anchovy gives each slice fish without making every bite equally aggressive; no extra salt is needed.
Honest timing
| Active preparation | 20 min |
| Hydration / proof / preheat | 1 h |
| Cooking / baking | 8 min |
| Elapsed total | 1 h 28 min |
Ingredients
- mature room-temperature pizza dough ball250 g (8.8 oz)
- thick crushed tomato sauce, lightly salted100 g (3.5 oz)
- well-drained Fior di Latte100 g (3.5 oz)
- oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and blotted30 g (1.06 oz)
- pitted black olives, drained and halved50 g (1.76 oz)
- salt-packed capers, rinsed and drained20 g (0.71 oz)
- dried oregano1 g
- extra-virgin olive oil12 g (0.42 oz)
Equipment
- pizza steel or stone
- pizza peel
- two small sieves
- clean kitchen towel
- digital scale
- pizza wheel
Exact method
- 1. Preheat a steel or stone on the lower-middle rack at maximum heat for 60 minutes.
- 2. Rinse capers until no salt crystals remain; drain them with the olives. Blot both dry. Drain anchovies separately and blot off excess packing oil.
- 3. Cut or tear mozzarella into 1–2 cm pieces. Drain for at least 20 minutes, then blot its surface dry.
- 4. Open the dough to 28–30 cm, keeping a 1.5–2 cm gas-filled rim. Move to a lightly dusted peel and check that it slides.
- 5. Spread all 100 g tomato sauce to within 1.5 cm of the rim. Add mozzarella with visible gaps so steam can escape.
- 6. Distribute anchovies radially, then add olives, capers and oregano. Drizzle 8 g olive oil around the tomato, not into one central pool.
- 7. Bake at 250–300°C / 482–572°F for 5–8 minutes, rotating once. Pull when the base browns and the anchovies are hot but not dry and leathery.
- 8. Rest for 60 seconds on a rack and finish with the remaining 4 g olive oil. Cut so every slice receives anchovy, olive and caper.
How to know it is ready
- The underside is dry and browned despite the full tomato layer.
- Mozzarella is melted in separate islands without a watery lake.
- Anchovies are glossy and tender rather than hard.
- Salt tastes deliberate: tomato and dough remain perceptible behind fish, capers and olives.
Troubleshooting
- Too salty: rinse capers, blot anchovies and never add automatic finishing salt.
- Wet center: dry mozzarella and preserved toppings; keep the 100 g thick sauce.
- Dry fish: shorten the bake or protect anchovies partly with mozzarella.
- Flat flavor after reducing salt: restore balance with oregano and post-bake oil, not more brine.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For less salinity, use 20 g anchovy and 35 g olives while keeping the tomato and cheese unchanged.
- For 35 cm, use a 300–320 g dough ball, 135 g tomato, 130 g mozzarella, 38 g anchovy, 65 g olives and 25 g capers.
- For a deliberately fiery version, use the separate Anchovy Chili Napoli recipe rather than changing this base at random.
Storage and food safety
Serve immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 2 days and reheat uncovered on a hot steel or skillet until the center is steaming. Because salt concentrates during reheating, do not add more before tasting.
Allergens
Fish, Gluten (wheat), Milk Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Sulphites.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.