Why this formula works
There is no watery tomato sauce here. Thirty grams of olive oil becomes a measured garlic-oregano base; drained sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers and feta provide concentrated savoriness. A full 100 g mozzarella gives an even melt, while 90 g feta stays visibly crumbly like the image.
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)
- low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated100 g (3.5 oz)
- feta in brine, drained and crumbled90 g (3.17 oz)
- pitted Kalamata olives, drained and halved70 g (2.47 oz)
- oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips80 g (2.82 oz)
- salt-packed capers, rinsed and drained25 g (0.88 oz)
- extra-virgin olive oil30 g (1.06 oz)
- garlic, finely grated5 g (0.18 oz)
- fresh oregano leaves, chopped4 g (0.14 oz)
- red chili flakes1 g
Equipment
- pizza steel or stone
- pizza peel
- two small sieves
- clean kitchen towel
- small bowl
- 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 surface salt remains. Drain capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta separately, then blot every ingredient thoroughly.
- 3. Mix olive oil with garlic, 3 g oregano and half the chili. Let it stand 10 minutes so the aromatics disperse without being fried.
- 4. Coarsely grate mozzarella. Halve olives, cut tomatoes into 1 cm strips and crumble feta into pieces no smaller than 1 cm.
- 5. Open the dough to 28–30 cm with a 1.5–2 cm rim. Move to a lightly dusted peel and confirm it slides.
- 6. Brush 24 g herb oil over the base. Add mozzarella, feta, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and capers evenly, keeping the center no heavier than the outer topping zone.
- 7. Bake at 250–300°C / 482–572°F for 5–8 minutes, rotating once, until the underside browns and feta edges turn lightly golden.
- 8. Rest on a rack for 60 seconds. Finish with remaining 6 g herb oil, remaining oregano and remaining chili; cut into six slices.
How to know it is ready
- The white center lifts cleanly with no jar oil or brine puddle.
- Sun-dried tomato remains chewy-tender rather than black and hard.
- Feta is still visibly crumbled with lightly colored edges.
- Olive, caper and chili taste balanced, not as one overwhelming salt hit.
Troubleshooting
- Greasy center: measure 30 g total oil and drain oil-packed tomatoes before weighing.
- Too salty: rinse capers, drain feta and do not add automatic salt.
- Burnt tomatoes: use broad strips and keep them partly protected by cheese.
- Dry result: retain the full 30 g herb oil and 190 g combined cheese rather than adding watery sauce.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For a red variation, replace 18 g oil with 90 g thick tomato sauce; keep 12 g herb oil for finishing.
- For milder salinity, reduce capers to 15 g and olives to 55 g while keeping cheese and tomatoes unchanged.
- For 35 cm, use a 300–320 g dough ball, 130 g mozzarella, 120 g feta, 90 g olives, 105 g sun-dried tomatoes and 32 g capers.
Storage and food safety
Serve immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 3 days and reheat uncovered on a hot steel or skillet. Blot any separated oil before reheating; do not dry the pizza with an unnecessarily long bake.
Allergens
Gluten (wheat), Milk Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Sulphites.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.