Heirloom Tomato Pesto Pizza
Heirloom Tomato Pesto Pizza is one of our favorite summer dinners. I start this dish by making homemade pizza dough. Then, I top the pizza with homemade pesto and fresh mozzarella cheese and bake it until it’s brown and bubbly. Finally, I add the beautiful heirloom tomatoes and bake it some more. We like this pizza for several reasons. First of all, enjoying summer tomatoes always makes me savor summer more. It’s almost like I’m on vacation, but I’m at home. Secondly, I like that the dough and pesto can be made ahead of time. In fact, I often bake up the whole pizza early in the day, and then heat it up for dinner. And, lastly, we all love the taste of the fresh mozzarella, the sweet basil pesto, and the juicy tomatoes.
The Equipment I Used
- A Bread Machine- I usually use a bread machine to make my dough. But I’ll attach my hand kneaded dough below.
- A Food Scale- For perfect dough results every time, please weigh your flour.
- Two Pizza Stones– I like to bake my pizzas on stones, but you could also use a round pizza pan. I really like my Emile-Henry pizza stone.
- Two Pizza Peels- If you use the stones, you’ll want peels. I use two because I like to build my pizzas right on them.
- Parchment Paper- I use this to line the peels so that the dough can be easily moved around.
- A Food Processor- You’ll need this to make the pesto.
The Ingredients Needed for Heirloom Tomato Pesto Pizza
- Yeast- Use active dry yeast, not quick acting or instant.
- Flour- Be sure to use all- purpose flour.
- Pine Nuts- If you can’t find these, you can use walnuts instead.
How I Made my Pesto Pizza
- First, I made my dough.
- Next, I made the pesto.
- Finally, I assembled my pizzas and baked them off.
If you like pesto, you need to try this cheesy and delicious Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Pizza.
Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Pizza
Two pizzas topped with fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, and heirloom tomatoes.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
- 2 Pizza Stones
- 2 Pizza Peels
- Food processor
Ingredients
For the Bread Machine Pizza Dough:
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups all purpose flour (360g)
- 1 tsp. each honey and salt
- 2 tsp. active dry yeast
For The Basil Pesto Sauce:
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. pine nuts
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
For the Pizza Toppings:
- 3½ cups fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced, and divided
- 4 red and yellow heirloom tomatoes
For the Garnishes:
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp. pine nuts
Instructions
- Begin by making the pizza dough: Add all the ingredients to your bread machine, in the order suggested by the manufacturer of your bread machine. Select the dough cycle and press start.
- While the dough is rising, make the pesto sauce: Place all the ingredients, except the oil, in the food processor. Pulse until everything is ground up. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil. Process until the pesto is emulsified.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with two pizza stones inside of it.
- When the dough cycle is done, dump the dough on to a floured board and divide in half. Press or roll the dough in to two twelve- inch circles, right on two parchment covered pizza peels. Brush them with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap and let them rise for thirty minutes. Top the dough rounds with about two thirds of the pesto sauce and the three cups of the mozzarella cheese.
- Using the pizza peels, slide the parchment and pizzas onto the pizza stones. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pizzas and top them with the tomatoes and a half cup more mozzarella. Bake for five minutes.
- Garnish the pizzas with the pine nuts, the rest of the pesto, the Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and basil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Hand Kneaded Pizza Dough
Pizza dough mixed with a wooden spoon and kneaded by hand.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
- 1 tsp. honey
- 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, stir together the water and honey. Stir in the yeast. Let this mixture sit for five minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together the bread flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the oil, and stir until it's all combined. Dump it on to a floured board, and knead it for 8 minutes.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and turn the dough until it's all covered in oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for one hour.
- Divide the dough in half and roll into two circles. Place on two pizza pans, or pizza peels. Brush with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for thirty minutes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
