Description
If you need a last-minute Valentine's Day dinner recipe, this homemade heart-shaped no-yeast pizza is delicious and quick to make. With its super crispy thin crust and ooey-gooey toppings, it's a total heartbreaker, and it only takes 10 minutes to prep and just about 10 minutes to bake. If you're trying to eat less refined carbs, this pizza is just as tasty made with 100% whole wheat flour.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (160g) (sub "00" flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (3g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (1g)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (15g)
- 1 teaspoon Lyle's Golden Syrup (7g) (sub maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or light corn syrup)
- up to 1/2 cup lukewarm water (118g)
- 2/3 cup finely chopped canned tomatoes (150g)(sub favorite pizza sauce)
- 2 fresh balls of mozzarella (about 7 ounces) (200g) (sub favorite shredded cheese)
- sliced veggies and/or any meat toppings, to taste
- dried or fresh oregano (or another Italian herb blend)
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F/260°C. Place a baking pan inside the oven in the hottest location (for my oven, this is the oven floor) and preheat the oven while you prepare the dough. *If you're not using the preheated-pan method, lightly oil a baking pan and leave it on the counter while you prepare the dough, just know the bottom crust will not be as crispy.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder, and whisk well to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the olive oil, syrup, and about 1/4 cup of the water to the flour mixture stirring it with your hands to combine. Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the dough comes together and is soft but not wet or sticky. Divide the dough in half and form 2 balls. If you have time, cover the dough and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to roll out. *Note, you may not need to add all of the water depending on the humidity and/or type of flour you're using.
- Roll out the dough and shape it into a heart. Lightly flour a non-stick baking mat and roll out one dough round to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the dough and using a pencil, draw a heart to use as a guide for cutting the dough. With the parchment paper still lying on top of the rolled-out dough, use any blunt object like a chopstick, etc. to trace a heart shape pressing down lightly to make an indention in the dough. This will make it easy to see the outline of where to cut the dough using the pizza wheel. Remove the parchment paper and use a pizza wheel slicer to cut the dough into the shape of a heart. Save the trimmed pieces, form them into a small ball, and roll them back out to make a small pizza. Helpful Hint: If you don't own a non-stick baking mat, roll out the dough between 2 pieces of lightly oiled parchment paper to get it as thin as it needs to be, then remove the top piece of parchment paper and proceed to Step #6 below.
- Add oil and parchment paper to the rolled-out pizza dough. Drizzle the pizza dough lightly with olive oil and evenly spread the oil over the surface of the dough. Cover the dough with parchment paper making sure the paper is slightly larger than the perimeter of the dough itself which makes it easier to transfer into the oven. Place a cutting board on top of the parchment paper, and flip the dough over. Remove the non-stick baking mat by peeling it away from the dough. This is now the top of your pizza.
- Top the pizza. Add about 1/3 cup of your favorite pizza sauce (or finely chopped tomatoes) and spread it out evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with a little salt to taste, dried or fresh oregano, and Parmigiano (or Parmesan) cheese. Top with a layer of torn fresh mozzarella and your favorite pizza toppings. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil over the top of the pizza.
- Bake the pizza. Place a cutting board under the parchment paper with the assembled pizza on it to easily transport the pizza to the oven. Gently slide the parchment paper with the pizza off of the cutting board and onto the hot baking tray. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is crispy around the edges move the pizza to the middle-top rack to finish crisping up for 4 to 5 minutes more. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes before slicing it into squares and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- If your dough seems too dry, continue adding water just a splash (about a teaspoon) at a time until the dough comes together. Flour can be dry or humid and so can your environment, which means that you may have to slightly adjust for these variables. Doing so slowly and in increments will ensure you don't add too much water and end up with a wet and sticky dough. If that accidentally happens, just add a bit more flour a teaspoon at a time, until you have a cohesive dough.
How to Bake a Heart-Shaped Pizza on a Preheated Baking Pan (for Extra Crispiness)
If you don't have a pizza stone or pizza peel (or if you only have a small stovetop oven), there are a couple of techniques you can use to ensure a crispy pizza crust. In the absence of a pizza stone (which uses refractory heat to cook), it's important to ensure the surface that your pizza will bake on (i.e. a cookie sheet, etc.) gets really hot before you add the pizza to it. This helps the crust to start cooking on the bottom immediately. *See the main post for details and more tips!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Oven Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pizza
