Quattro Stagioni Pizza – Four Seasons Pizza

Quattro stagioni pizza or four seasons pizza is one of the best Italian pizzas out there, with artichokes, mushrooms, olives and ham. This authentic Italian pizza is incredibly good and fun to make.

This quattro stagioni pizza is traditionally divided into four sections, each with their own toppings to represent four seasons. It's a fun way to change up your pizza although you can mix up all the topping if you're sharing with a few people so everyone gets a taste of everything.

How good does that pizza look?

Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, black olives and prosciutto cotto (ham) scattered over tomato sauce and mozzarella then baked to bubbling, crispy, pizza perfection. If you're looking for some weekend dinner inspiration then we've got you covered.

You may know we're partial to a slice of pizza or two (pfft who has only 2 slices?), it's a tradition almost every Friday. Friday nights are made for pizza, don't you think?

There's nothing better after a long week of work than pouring yourself a large glass of red wine and stuffing your face with the best pizza ever aaaaand knowing you can have a long lie in the morning. We mean it doesn't get any better, right?

This quattro stagioni pizza is so much fun to make, for Friday pizza night preparations we always make the dough in the morning or early afternoon and let it rise all day. If you don't have time for that or decided you want this, like right now then don't worry. Our Instant No Rise No Yeast Pizza Dough is suited to those pizza emergencies.

How to make quattro stagioni – four seasons pizza

First off you need the solid pizza dough. Most recipes use 00 flour and we were using type 00 flour for so long until we were told by an Italian that the best flour to use for making pizzas is type 0.

Type 0 flour is a soft wheat flour, richer in gluten than type 00 it creates a more elastic and robust dough making it suited to pizzas. Type 00 is a great alternative although will result in a softer dough.

If you can get you hands on type 0 always use it, if not the second option would be type 00 and if you're unlucky enough to not find any of them then normal all purpose flour will have to do. It's not the end of the world, you'll still have great pizzas.

Follow our directions below to make the dough.

Quattro stagioni pizza toppings

Ok, now it's time for the fun part, topping the pizza. Traditionally, artichokes, mushrooms, ham and olives are used to make this pizza but you can use whatever you want to represent the seasons. A lot of restaurants in Italy choose different toppings from sun dried tomatoes, anchovies zucchini flowers have some fun with it and represent the seasons your way.

The base is spread with tomato passata/pureed tomatoes then sprinkled with mozzarella before adding the toppings. Place the toppings in four sections of the pizza or alternatively mix them all up (our boyfriend always prefers it this way) that way everyone can enjoy a bite of everything.

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

For the dough

• 4 cups (1.1 lb/500g) 0' flour
• 2 tsp (7g) fast action dried yeast
• 1 1/3 cups (320ml) lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• Semolina flour for dusting

For the topping

• 6 tbsp passata/pureed tomatoes
• 8.8 oz (250g) mozzarella
• 5.6 oz (160g) mushrooms (,finely sliced)
• 6.3 oz (180g) artichoke hearts (,jarred and cut in half)
• 2.4 (70g) pitted black olives (,cut in half)
• 4 large slices (Italian ham)

Method

1. Add the yeast to the lukewarm water with 1/2 tsp sugar for 5 minutes. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the water/yeast mixture whilst mixing the dough together with a spoon until you have obtained a dough. If it's too sticky you can gradually add a little more flour.

2. Dust a clean work surface with a little flour and knead the dough for around 5-10 minutes until it's silky smooth and soft. If you lightly press your finger on the ball of dough it should spring back up easily. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large clean bowl and rub all over until the bowl is coated. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bowl, rub the top of the dough with a tiny amount of olive oil. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for at least 3 hours until doubled in size.

3. When you are ready to make the pizzas place your pizza trays in the oven and preheat the oven to 220°C/425F/gas mark 7.

4. Divide your dough in half roughly with your hands and place on a lightly floured work surface. Press lightly in the dough to shape it into a rough circle or rectangle then using a rolling pin dusted with flour roll the dough out to fit your tray. The dough should be rolled out as thin as possible without tearing.

5. Remove the pizza tray from the oven and dust lightly with semolina flour. Transfer your dough to the tray and spread with 3 tbsp of passata, you don't want to much or your pizza will go soggy. Tear up half the mozzarella with your hands and dot it over the base.

6. Finally, add your toppings over four sections of the pizza. Repeat with the second pizza and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the crust is crispy.

Kitchen notes

This recipe used 2 13x15 inch trays. (33x28cm)

Serve 4-6 people