Why this formula works
The full 100 g pesto is split: 80 g bakes as the green base and 20 g returns freshness afterward. One hundred and fifty grams tomato stays juicy but is salted, drained and baked cut-side up. Burrata and toasted pine nuts remain outside the oven, protecting creamy texture, green color and nutty crunch.
Honest timing
| Active preparation | 25 min |
| Hydration / proof / preheat | 1 h |
| Cooking / baking | 8 min |
| Elapsed total | 1 h 33 min |
Ingredients
- mature room-temperature pizza dough ball250 g (8.8 oz)
- thick basil pesto made with Parmesan and pine nuts100 g (3.5 oz)
- low-moisture mozzarella, coarsely grated100 g (3.5 oz)
- ripe cherry tomatoes, halved150 g (5.3 oz)
- fresh burrata, well chilled125 g (4.4 oz)
- raw pine nuts30 g (1.06 oz)
- fresh basil leaves15 g (0.53 oz)
- extra-virgin olive oil10 g (0.35 oz)
- finely grated unwaxed lemon zest3 g (0.11 oz)
- fine sea salt2 g (0.07 oz)
Equipment
- pizza steel or stone
- pizza peel
- fine sieve
- small dry skillet
- fine grater
- digital scale
- pizza wheel
Exact method
- 1. Preheat a steel or stone on the lower-middle rack at maximum heat for 60 minutes. Drain burrata in a sieve for 20 minutes, blot and return it to the refrigerator.
- 2. Toss halved cherry tomatoes with 1 g salt in a sieve. Drain 15 minutes, then blot only the cut surfaces dry.
- 3. Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking constantly. Remove at pale gold and cool completely.
- 4. Open the dough to 28–30 cm with a 1.5–2 cm rim. Move to a lightly dusted peel and verify that it slides.
- 5. Spread 80 g pesto in a thin even layer. Add mozzarella and arrange all tomato halves cut-side up so their juice concentrates instead of running into the base.
- 6. Bake at 250–300°C / 482–572°F for 5–8 minutes, rotating once, until the underside browns and tomato edges look concentrated.
- 7. Rest on a rack for 60 seconds. Place the cold burrata in the center and tear it into four connected folds. Dot the remaining 20 g pesto around it.
- 8. Finish with toasted pine nuts, basil, olive oil, lemon zest and remaining 1 g salt. Cut around the burrata and serve immediately.
How to know it is ready
- Pesto remains olive-green with no black burnt film.
- Tomato edges are concentrated and no red water surrounds them.
- Burrata is cool-creamy at its center and only warmed at the folds.
- Pine nuts are pale golden and crisp, never dark brown.
Troubleshooting
- Oily center: use thick pesto, weigh 100 g and keep the burrata out of the oven.
- Watery tomatoes: salt, drain, blot and bake cut-side up.
- Brown bitter pesto: reduce top heat and retain 20 g for after baking.
- Burnt pine nuts: toast separately over medium-low heat and remove before they look fully brown.
How to adapt the base recipe
- For nut-free pesto, use a separately developed seed-based pesto and clean equipment; changing only the garnish does not remove pine nuts from the standard pesto.
- For a saucier green pizza, increase pesto to 120 g but reserve at least 25 g for finishing.
- For 35 cm, use a 300–320 g dough ball, 135 g pesto, 130 g mozzarella, 200 g cherry tomatoes, 150 g burrata and 40 g pine nuts.
Storage and food safety
Serve immediately. Refrigerate within 2 hours and use within 1 day because opened burrata and fresh basil deteriorate quickly. Reheat only the bare pizza base and add cold burrata, pesto and basil afterward.
Allergens
Gluten (wheat), Milk, Pine nuts Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Tree nuts.
Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.