Potato pan pizza is what dreams are made of. Chewy, doughy pan pizza with crispy slivers of peppery, salty potatoes, sweet bits of onion, heady rosemary, and creamy vegan mozzarella. Did I just describe the most perfect, indulgent pizza? I think so. This pan pizza is my take on pizza con patate, an ‘accidentally vegan’ option common in Italy. In my version, potatoes are thinly sliced with a mandolin (a sharp knife will work, just cut them as thin as possible) and then soaked in hot salty water for at least one hour. The brine softens the potatoes and removes excess starch, so they are able to cook up crisp quickly in the oven (this is also a common way of prepping for french fries). At the end of the soak the potato slices are soft and flexible. Drain them and squeeze dry in a towel. The potato slices are tossed with diced red onion, rosemary, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. No salt needed thanks to the soak.
For the crust, I turned to my favorite bread book author, Ken Forkish, for inspiration. For the potato pizza I wanted a thicker and sturdier crust that also required more baking time than my usual 8-minute pizzas. The pan pizza uses higher protein flours, either 00 flour or bread flour, for a chewier result, which is perfect for this purpose. Baking it in a larger quantity in a sheet pan instead of straight on a pizza stone or steel guarantees the longer bake time. The dough is easy to make, requiring only one easy minute total of kneading and some patience. I modified the method slightly for a more relaxed and flexible schedule by using the fridge, which slows down the proliferation of yeast and also allows for more flavor to develop in the dough. This does require planning out your pizza dinner the night before or the morning of pizza-baking day. However, if you decide you want pizza just a few hours before dinner time, you can 1) allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 4 hours before shaping and assembling, or 2) buy some store bought dough (~2 lbs).
When the pizza dough is ready to go it’s easy to assemble. Ease the dough out of the bowl it’s been proofing in, straight onto an oiled, rimmed half sheet pan. Stretch it gently with your fingers until you reach resistance, the gluten will cause the dough to spring back slightly. Let the dough rest for several minutes, then pour a little olive oil on top of the dough and spread it out with your fingers while simultaneously stretching it out all the way to the rim. Sprinkle some garlic over top, and then add your desired amount of vegan mozzarella. On top of that spread out the potato mixture, overlapping is fine, but you’ll want to spread out any slices that are clumped together. At this point your pizza is ready to bake (and your oven has been preheating for 45 minutes to 1 hour)! Beware, your house will smell insanely good while the pizza bakes, to the point that your dog may wake up from her nap to come beg for yummy treats.
I love pizza, and we eat a good amount of it around here. This pizza is one of my favorites to indulge in. Though, I probably say that to all my pizzas. If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below, rate it, or tag me on Instagram!
Notes:
You can use either russet or yukon gold potatoes for the pizza. I have used both and enjoyed the results. For the photos in this post yukon gold potatoes were used, but I used russet potatoes this time. Substitute store bought pizza dough if you’d like, you’ll need 2 lbs of it for a half sheet pan pizza. If you don’t like to use vegan cheese, this is a good pizza to leave it off, since traditionally it doesn’t have cheese on it. But I like the extra creamy richness that vegan mozzarella provides. My favorite pairing with potato pizza is Miyoko’s Kitchen Smoked Mozzarella, but your favorite melty vegan mozz will be good!
*Pizza dough recipe adapted from Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish
