Pizza alla Campofranco | A Royal Neapolitan Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

Until around the Second World War, pizza as we know it today was a food made almost exclusively amongst the lower classes in Neapolitan society. The Italian upper classes looked down upon this street food and would generally avoid it (what a mistake that was!), but this doesn’t mean that they didn’t find a way to get in on the pizza action in some manner.

Pizza alla Campofranco | A Royal Neapolitan Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

Pizza alla Campofranco (also known as “Pizza Raffinata,” or “Refined Pizza”) was invented by a chef who worked for the Neapolitan nobility. It’s a stuffed, deep dish pizza with a unique brioche-style dough. Not only is it absolutely delicious, in many ways it’s easier (and much faster) to make than traditional Neapolitan pizza.

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PIZZA ALLA CAMPOFRANCO RECIPE

Makes: One 10 to 12-inch pizza

Cook Time: 6 ½ to 7 hours, largely unattended

For this recipe, you will need:

• 4 ⅛ cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, divided

• ⅔ cup (150 ml) whole milk

• 1 ½ teaspoons (6 g) active dry yeast

• 3 large eggs

• 3 teaspoons (20 g) honey

• Salt

• ¾ cup (150 g) lard, plus extra for greasing

• 6 ounces (170 g) sliced ham

• 8 ounces (225 g) chopped mozzarella cheese, divided

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

• 14 ounces (400 g) canned whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 garlic clove, peeled

• 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

Place 100 grams of flour in a mixing bowl. Heat the milk in a microwave for about 15 seconds, or until it’s warm (but not boiling). Stir the yeast into the milk until it dissolves completely. Pour the milk and yeast into the flour and stir all together until an even, smooth paste forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place (an oven with the light on works well) for 1 hour.

After an hour, place the risen “lievitino” mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the remaining 400 grams of flour, the eggs, honey and 2 tsp. (10 g) of salt. Mix with a hook attachment at a medium/low speed until all of the ingredients are evenly combined.

While continuing to mix, add one spoonful of the lard. Once the lard is evenly incorporated into the dough, add a second spoonful. Repeat this process until all of the lard is incorporated.

Remove the dough from the mixer and form it into a smooth ball. Place it in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours, or until it roughly triples in size.

Grease a large work surface with lard and transfer the risen dough into the center. Cut off ⅓ of the dough and set aside for later. Spread the remaining dough into a flat circle using your hands until it is big enough to drape into a springform mold with a 10 to 12-inch (25 to 30 cm) diameter and about a 3 inch (7.5 cm) height. The dough should be able to cover the sides of the mold.

Grease the bottom and sides of the springform with lard and drape the dough sheet into the mold. Gently press the dough sheet into the corners. Place half of the sliced ham in a layer to cover the bottom, then spread half of the mozzarella on top of the ham. Cover the cheese with another layer of ham. Save the remaining cheese for later.

Spread the remaining portion of unused dough into a flat circle with your hands, until it is big enough to cover the top of the “pie.” Drape it on top of the ham. Trim the excess dough from around the sides of the mold, then firmly press and pinch the top and side doughs together to seal the pizza shut. The resulting stuffed pizza should fill about half of the mold (it will rise significantly later).

Cover the pizza with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

While the pizza rises, you can prepare the tomato sauce. Place the olive oil, canned tomatoes, garlic, basil and a big pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium/low heat and let it cook, partially covered, until the tomatoes dissolve and the sauce becomes very thick—about 30 minutes. Salt the sauce again to taste, turn off the heat and set aside for later.

After the pizza has risen, remove the plastic wrap and spread the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly on top. Cover the top of the pizza and cheese with the tomato sauce, leaving just a small margin of “crust” free around the edges.

Put the pizza into a cold oven and set the temperature to 350° F (180° C). Cook for 35 to 45 minutes (starting from when you turn the oven on)—until the cheese has melted and the pizza crust becomes golden and starts to brown around the extreme edges.

Let the pizza cool for 5 minutes before removing the springform, cutting and serving.

Buon appetito!