This is buttery, salty and a little creamy! The smoked garlic always adds a nice warm depth to dishes but you can use normal garlic if you cannot find and just use 2 cloves. The ricotta is to add the signature white colouring and carry the whipped butter, garlic and Grana Padano. The crispy sage ties everything together. I have gone for a 50/50 blend of strong white bread flour and spelt flour. You can keep the whole thing spelt but I find that the plain flour adds the crunchy crust while the spelt adds a nuttiness flavour. If using just spelt, you might need a little less water when making, (around 200ml). Grana Padano compliments these flavours and together they create this wonderful synergy of creamy saltiness. You can add this topping to any pizza base or even a grilled ciabatta. The beauty of this, is that you don’t need any fancy equipment. Just a very hot oven!

Note: you will have to start the base 2-3 days before you want to eat the pizza. This is a long fermented dough which means you get a great pizza even in a standard oven.

Makes x2 12inch pizzas

Ingredients:

For the 50/50 pizza dough

1/3 tsp fast action dried yeast

170g strong white bread flour

170g spelt flour

10g sea salt

230ml water, at room temperature

Plus semolina flour for dusting

For the topping:

100g unsalted butter, soft

3 cloves smoked garlic, grated

30g Grana Padano, grated on the smallest setting

X2 pinches of salt

Generous black pepper

200g ricotta cheese (excess water drained)

3-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Handful sage leaves

Handful dried or fresh oregano

For the base, add the flours into a bowl and mix in the yeast followed by the salt. Make a well in the middle and slowly start adding the water. Bring together into a dough. Tip onto a surface and start to bring the dough together. You should be working it in total for about 2-3 mins. Then place back into the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave out on the counter at room temp for 24 hrs.

Then place the bowl into the fridge for 2 days.

After 2 days, remove the dough from the fridge. Generously flour a work surface and tip dough out and divide into two equal balls. Dust the top of one of dough balls and your hands. Gently pull out dough a little and book end it together. You are effectively gently folding it into itself like this about 10-15 times. When it gets sticky, add more flour. On the last fold, pinch the underneath together to trap air and create a large dough ball. Place on a tray that has been floured and continue with the second ball. Then cover and leave to prove for 3-4 hours at room temperature.

For the filling, add the butter, garlic, Grana Padano, salt and pepper to a blender. Blitz until whipped and smooth, (you can use a whisk and do by hand). In a bowl, add ricotta, olive oil, salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Mix this in with the butter adding more olive oil if needed to loosen more. It should be a smooth spreading insistency.

When you are ready to make the pizzas, preheat oven to 250/260 C fan or the highest it will go and place a large baking tray in to warm up. Dust a surface with flour and semolina flour and mix together. Tip one of your dough balls onto the surface and gently press the dough with your fingers. There should be some nice bubbles forming. You want to try to keep these as they will look good once cooked. Gently stretch the dough out a little. Generously coat your hands in flour and semolina. Pick up the dough and use your knuckles to gently stretch. Do this VERY slowly. The dough will stretch by itself, your shouldn’t have to pull. Once it is the desired size, place back onto the surface. It should be quite thin.

When the oven is at max heat, add a sheet of baking parchment to the tray and sprinkle over flour and a drizzle of olive oil. Use a spoon to mix together and place back in the oven for 5 mins. This helps create a smokey pizza base. Remove tray from the oven and place onto a heatproof surface. Dust hands in flour again, carefully place the pizza dough on top of the baking paper. Use a spoon to quickly and carefully spread over the topping. You want a thin layer (about 1/2 cm), top with sage leaves, oregano leaves, salt, pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil. Quickly place into the oven for 9-10 mins with a quick turn at 7mins. Then turn to grill fan setting for 1-2mins to get more colour on top. After this the base should be crispy and then topping cooked. Remove from the oven and grate over more Grana Padano and a little more olive oil. Eat straight away and then make the second!

Pizza Bianca with Grana Padano Riserva & Smoked Garlic