Toscana
Originating from Italy, this Toscana pizza is a mouth watering seafood pizza that’s easy to make.
Made with love, this type of pizza provides a rich flavor, coupled with a faultless scent to enjoy.
Ensure you always pick the freshest ingredients and complement them with the perfect crust for you and friends to enjoy a enjoyable homemade pizza feast.
If you like Seafood pizza covered in Tomato sauce then you are in luck right now.
Pizza is a tasty food all around the world, but did you know that it can be quite different depending on where you go? That’s because the ingredients, cooking methods, and pizza-making traditions vary greatly from place to place. For example, in Italy, pizza is typically made with simple and high-quality ingredients such as fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, and cooked in a wood-fired oven, which gives it its characteristic soft and chewy crust.
Meanwhile, in America, pizza is often loaded with toppings and cooked in a gas oven, resulting in a much crispier crust. Even within the same country, you can find different regional variations. For example, in New York, you will find the classic thin-crust pizza, while in Chicago, you will find a deep-dish pizza with a thick crust.
The unique characteristics of pizza in different places make it a fascinating food to explore and try. It’s like a cultural exploration, one slice at a time!
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.
| Origin | Italy |
| Type | Seafood |
| Sauce | Tomato Sauce |
Toscana Pizza Recipe
Below we’ve created a recipe for you to make a delicious homemade Toscana Pizza using a wood oven or the oven in your kitchen.
| Dough | 2 hours |
| Assembly | 10 minutes |
| Baking | 12-20 minutes |
Toscana Pizza Ingredients
Get enough of the toppings that you will need for the amount of pizzas you plan to make. The pizza sauce and dough ingredients below are designed for 3-4 pizzas, so add more or less, if required.
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
Toscana Pizza Toppings
Toppings used in this pizza recipe, are;
- Anchovies
- Tuna
- Pecorino Cheese
- Basil
- Bell Pepper
Easy 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 Toscana Pizza, that use that topping.
Pizza Dough Method
If you don’t have much time, grab a premade pizza base at your local grocery store, or create your own homemade pizza dough following the simple steps below.
- Whisk yeast and lukewarm water in glass or plastic container. Let stand for approximately 5 minutes.
- Add salt and flour in a large bowl. Create a hollow well in the middle and gently pour the liquid yeast mixture and oil.
- 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.
- 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.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Hand knead gently for five minutes until reasonably smooth.
- Divide dough mix into equal amounts, now roll out the bases to the desired size.
- 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 Method
To take your homemade pizza to the next level, try whipping up your own tomato sauce using the steps outlined below.
- Mix ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pizza sauce should be reasonably smooth.
- Let sit in the bowl for 5 minutes.
- Your sauce is now ready to add to your pizza bases.
- Sauce will last up to 3 days in fridge.
Instead of making the sauce the same day, prepare it the day before and refrigerate it to save time.
Preparing Toscana Pizza
Preheat your oven to at least 450 degrees for 30 minutes or longer.
Spread out pizza dough on floured surface.
If you have a pizza peel, you can create your pizza on it (after flouring).
Start by spreading the sauce all over the base. This pizza uses Tomato Sauce. Spread the Tomato Sauce Thinly yet evenly, leaving a margin for the crust.
Add the largest toppings first – typically meat or seafood, then the smaller toppings.
Add cheese last, and sprinkle it all over to help keep the toppings in place when it melts.
This pizza has the following toppings:
- Anchovies
- Tuna
- Pecorino Cheese
- Basil
- Bell Pepper
This pizza is excellent on its own, or why not with other pizzas as well?
Oven time
Put the Toscana 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.
About Pecorino Cheese
Pecorino was named 2,000 years ago from the Italian word pecora, which means “sheep.” Although known as the firm, hard cheese available from most stores, Pecorino actually covers all Italian cheeses that are made from ewe’s milk.
Pecorino is available in Italy in three main classifications that are based on how long the individual cheeses have been aged. They are fresco, semi-stagionato and stagionato.
Pizza Tools
When making Toscana Pizza, I suggest you just use what you have available, without spending any money. My recommended basic pizza tool list is…
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.
Pizza Steel
A pizza steel is very similar to a pizza stone, and works the same way in a normal kitchen oven.
Dough Mixer
OK, so this isn’t vital, but if you make enough pizza, breads, etc it is worth investing in a good mixer for your dough.
Bell Pepper
Also called sweet pepper, paprika or capsicum, Bell Peppers are a fruit of plants in the Capsicum species. Green Chili Peppers are not a different species, but rather just the unripe state of red peppers. Green Chili Peppers are the most aggressively flavoured, being naturally acidic and sometimes a little bitter.
Red peppers are sweeter and gentler, and used either cooked or raw. Orange and Yellow peppers are individual varieties rather than stages between green and red peppers. They have been specially bred to be sweet and gentle.
Storage Tips
Here are a few storage tips, if you have any dough or pizza left over after the meal.
Store in the fridge
Leftover slices of pizza may be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating pizza
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.
Seafood Pizzas
Keen on seeing more than Toscana pizza? We have plenty of other Seafood 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.
How long is pizza good for in the fridge?
A cooked pizza will store in the fridge for up to 5 days, depending on the toppings and the container it is being held in.
Why isn’t my pizza crust cooking all the way through?
Either you didn’t cook your pizza long enough, or the oven wasn’t hot enough. You should always let your oven preheat for at least 30 minutes before you bake the pizza. Then watch your pizza crust turn golden around the edges and evenly browned on the bottom before removing.
What temperature should I use for baking pizza?
If you’re using a baking pan or pizza pan, preheat your oven pretty much as high as it can go. I’m talking about 500°F (260°C) or higher. If you’re using a pizza stone, don’t forget to preheat that as well. Always let it heat up for at least 30 minutes, before adding your first pizzas.
Have you made Toscana Pizza?
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