The Pig & The Fig – Makes one 13-inch pizza; may be doubled or tripled

It’s been my recurring dream and ambition to pair pork with fresh figs, and this colorful, seasonal pizza is one of my favorite ways to do so. Figs are in fact one of our most seasonal fruits or vegetables, and in many parts of the country, September is the best time to find them. So grab your figs quickly and get to work making my awesome 48-Hour dough for this incredible pie.

The Pig & The Fig

Makes one 13-inch pizza; may be doubled or tripled

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Pizza, Bread

Ingredients

  

• .5 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 8 ounce dough ball at room temperature (ideally, Brigit’s 48-Hour Cold-Fermented Dough)
• - rice flour and cornmeal for shaping and cooking the pizza
• - extra virgin olive oil for brushing
• 6 large, plump fresh figs stemmed and sliced crosswise about ¼ inch thick
• 2 ounces thick-cut prosciutto torn into small strips
• 3.5 ounces smoked mozzarella coarsely grated
• 1.5 ounces small arugula leaves (about 1 cup), tossed with just enough olive oil to coat Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Build a fire in the wood oven and build the temperature up to about 700°F.
• In a small saucepan, reduce the balsamic vinegar over medium-low heat by about two-thirds, until syrupy. Set aside.
• Place the dough disk on a lightly floured surface and press out into a rough oval shape, a little less than ¼ inch thick (if the dough resists your efforts to press it out thin, cover with a towel and leave to rest for about 5 minutes, then persist).
• Dimple with your fingers every inch or so, leaving the edge untouched, and brush all over with olive oil.
• Transfer the dough round to a wooden pizza peel liberally scattered with cornmeal.
• Don’t press down on the dough at all as you load and top it, or it will stick to the peel.
• Immediately scatter the dough with the sliced figs, prosciutto, and mozzarella.
• Quickly and confidently slide the pizza onto the floor in the center of the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, rotating occasionally after the first minute or two.
• As soon as the edges of the first pizza are nicely charred and the cheese has melted, remove from the oven.
• Scatter with the arugula and drizzle with a little balsamic syrup.
• Cut and serve.
• Alternate Method: Bake the pizza at the hottest setting your oven will achieve, preferably set to convection. It will take longer than 2 to 4 minutes, probably 6 to 8. Best results will be obtained with a fully preheated baking steel, set on the oven’s lowest shelf.