Pepperoni Pizza (Italy)

Pepperoni Pizza (Italy)
Pepperoni Pizza (Italy)

Pepperoni

First created in Italy, this Pepperoni pizza is a flavorful meat pizza worth making at home.

Made with care, the below pizza enjoys a heavenly taste, matched with a extensive smell.

Use your time to get the freshest toppings and complement them with a perfect base for your family to take part in a out of this world pizza meal.

If you enjoy Meat pizza that has Tomato sauce this may be what you have been searching for.

Pizza is a fun food to make as a group because it’s interactive and allows everyone to get creative with their toppings. Everyone can choose their own toppings and make their own personalized pizza. Plus, it’s a great way to bond and spend time together while creating something tasty.

You can make the dough from scratch, or even use pre-made dough, and have a mini pizza making party. It’s a great activity for kids and adults alike, everyone can get involved and have fun. It’s also a great way to teach kids about cooking and different ingredients.

Additionally, making pizza together is a great way to break the ice and get to know each other if you are in a new group. Overall, pizza making is a fun, interactive and tasty way to bring people together and make memories.

Pizza in Italy

A Naples invention, Pizza originated in Italy in the 1700’s, and they know how to craft the perfect pizza. Naples is the most famous location for pizza in the entire world, and you can still visit the world’s oldest pizzeria, the stunning Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba.

Take a look at some of the other pizzas from Italy here.

Pepperoni Pizza at a glance
Origin Italy
Type Meat
Sauce Tomato Sauce

Pepperoni Pizza Recipe

Below we’ve created a recipe for you to make a delicious homemade Pepperoni Pizza from either a pizza oven or your usual oven.

Preparation time
Dough 2 hours
Assembly 10 minutes
Baking 12-20 minutes

Pepperoni Pizza Ingredients

Choose enough pizza toppings for the amount of pizzas you will be creating. The pizza sauce and dough ingredients below are designed for 3-4 pizzas, so add more or less, if required.

Pepperoni Pizza

Simple Pizza dough

  • 250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
  • 400 g (2 2/3 cups) plain flour, plus extra to dust
  • 7 grams (2 tsps) dried yeast
  • 1/4 cup (3 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons table salt

Pepperoni Pizza Toppings

Toppings used in this pizza recipe, are;

  • Mozzarella
  • Chili Peppers

Pepperoni pizza recipe

Tomato Pizza Sauce

  • 1 (6oz/170g) can of tomato paste
  • 1 can (15oz/420g) diced or crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 small onion
  • 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs

Want to try a different sauce? See our article on the different types of pizza sauces.

TIP

You can click on any of the tags at the bottom of this page, to find other pizzas besides Pepperoni Pizza, that use that topping.

Homemade pizza dough

Pizza Dough Method

You can purchase a premade pizza base at your local shop or make your own dough following the simple steps below.

  1. Whisk yeast and lukewarm water in glass or plastic container. Let stand for approximately 5 minutes.
  2. Add salt and flour in a large bowl. Create a hollow well in the middle and gently pour the liquid yeast mixture and oil.
  3. Using your hands or spatula, gently combine the flour mixture until smooth. Then turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and hand knead for roughly five minutes.
  4. Place the dough mixture in to an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place until the dough has at least risen to double in size.
  5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Hand knead gently for five minutes until reasonably smooth.
  6. Divide dough mix into equal amounts, now roll out the bases to the desired size.
  7. Sprinkle some flour on work surface before rolling out dough to prevent any sticking.

TIP: We have other dough recipes if you would like to try your hand at sourdough, poolish or more.

Tomato Pizza Sauce

Tomato Pizza Sauce Method

Don’t settle for store-bought sauce, make your own with the recipe provided for a truly homemade pizza experience.

  1. Mix ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Mix well using a whisk, or blender.
  3. Leave sitting for five minutes.
  4. Your sauce is now ready. Enjoy!
  5. Keep sauce in fridge or freeze for future use.

The pizza sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 5 days, so you can make it ahead of time.

Pepperoni recipe

Preparing Pepperoni Pizza

Preheat your kitchen oven to approximately 500 degrees.

Roll out the dough to either slightly smaller than your pizza stone (if you have one) or on a metal tray for the kitchen oven.

Alternatively, if you have a pizza oven, roll out to be smaller than your pizza peel.

First, spread the sauce around. This pizza calls for Tomato Sauce. Spread the Tomato Sauce evenly using the back of a large spoon or the blunt side of a knife.

You should start by adding the largest ingredients, then work your way down. The last is any cheese topping, such as Mozzarella, which you should evenly cover the other toppings with, and then finally any herbs.

The toppings to include on this pizza are;

  • Mozzarella
  • Chili Peppers

This pizza is great tasting as is, or you could enjoy it with a simple side dish?

Oven time

Put the Pepperoni pizza in the middle of your oven (on a pizza steel if you have one) and set timer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, open oven and look at pizza.

The pizza should be done within roughly 15 minutes. Always cook to personal tastes.

Meat pizza

About Mozzarella

Fresh Mozzarella is typically white, however when seasoned it can change to light yellow, depending on the animal’s diet. Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day after it is made, however it can be kept in brine for a week, or even longer if packaged well.
Mozzarella was first cited in an Italian cookbook in 1570. Nowadays, Mozzarella can be twisted to form a plait, and called Treccia. You can also buy it as a smoked cheese, called Affumicata.

Pizza from Italy

Pizza Tools

When making Pepperoni Pizza, I suggest you just use what you have available, without spending any money. My recommended basic pizza tool list is…

Pastry Brush

If you ever coat your dough in water, oil, eggs or more, then you need a pastry brush. These brushes tend to be cheap to have and very handy to use.

Kitchen Scales

Do you have quality digital kitchen scales? It’s a great tool for any chef or pizza cook.

Pizza Scissors

These may seem like a weird tool to some, however other pizzaiolo’s swear by using scissors instead of a traditional pizza cutter.

 

Mozzarella icon

Chili Peppers

Did you know that in any given day, a quarter of the world’s population eats food with Chili Peppers in it? They were being eaten 6,000 years ago, according to scientists.

The active ingredient in chili peppers is capsaicin. When it is eaten, capsaicin triggers pain receptors that normally alert the body to dangerous physical heat. That’s why sometimes it may feel like your mouth really is on fire.

Chili Peppers

Storage Ideas

Have leftover pizza? Here’s what to do.

Warming up

Warm in the center of a 450 degree F oven for approximately 6 minutes, on a pizza stone if possible, until heated through. See our article on reheating pizza for more.

Freezer guide

You can store leftover pizza in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen as directed above until heated through.

Store in the fridge

Leftover slices of pizza may be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

 

Meat Pizzas

Keen on seeing more than Pepperoni pizza? We have plenty of other Meat pizza recipes to look at, as well. Enjoy!

 

Pizza making FAQ

Want to make great pizza at home? Here are some expert answers to some of the most Frequently asked questions.

When is pepperoni pizza day?

Pepperoni Pizza day is officially 20 September, however you should also note that this style of pizza is an American invention, and not Italian. It is likely to only really be celebrated in the USA.

Can I use the pan that came in the stove for making pizza?

Possibly, however I always recommend using a pizza stone in your typical kitchen oven, rather than an oven pan. Most oven pans have high sides, and make it hard for the base to get cooked through thoroughly. A pizza stone solves this issue. Short answer? Try it and see!

When did pizza delivery start?

The first ever recorded pizza delivery occurred in 1889, when Queen Margherita of Savoy fell ill after eating rotten food in Naples. The Queen and her husband, King Umberto I of Italy, were hungry and requested that authentic Italian pizza be sent to them.

Pepperoni pizza from Italy

Have you made Pepperoni Pizza?

Your feedback on Pepperoni Pizza is important to us, let us know what you thought! Tag us on our Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you thought of it! I’d love to know.

 

Featured image: Source