The bar-style red mini pizzas with their soft, slightly tall base, the savory tomato that reaches the edge and the stringy mozzarella that makes them irresistible, are the classic snack that pleases everyone, from school recess to an aperitivo with friends.
They aren’t just small pizzas, but a little masterpiece of softness thanks to a dough enriched with milk and butter that distinguishes them from classic thin-crust pizza.
For a proper party buffet they absolutely can’t be missing together with milk rolls, the sandwich focaccia, the danubio, popcorn and chips.
Making them at home is much easier than you might think. With a few simple ingredients and a bit of patience for the rising time, you can get soft and tasty mini pizzas very similar to those displayed in bar windows.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then… let’s COOK and EAT!!
See also
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups Manitoba flour
- 2 cups Type 00 flour
- 1.25 tsp fresh brewer's yeast (see note) (or 4 g active dry yeast (about 1¼ tsp))
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1.25 cups whole milk
- 1.67 tsp salt
- 2 tsp butter
- 1.25 cups tomato purée (passata)
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt
- as needed dried oregano
- basil (fresh)
- 9 oz mozzarella for pizza
Tools
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Work surface
- 1 Dough scraper
- 1 Bowl
- Plastic wrap
- 2 Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Steps
Making bar-style mini pizzas at home is quite easy, especially if you have a stand mixer. However, the dough can also be worked easily by hand. Let’s see the individual steps in detail.
Put the two sifted flours, the sugar and the crumbled yeast into the bowl of the stand mixer.
Start mixing with the hook attachment and gradually pour in the milk. Before adding the last splash of milk, add the salt.
When the dough has started to come together, begin adding the softened butter in pieces.
Don’t add more butter until the previous portion has been fully absorbed. Continue kneading until the dough is completely smooth and elastic.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.
At the end of the first rise, transfer the dough to a work surface and divide it into portions of about 3 oz each (approximately 80 g). Flatten each portion and then fold the edges toward the center, pinching them well.
Round the portions by rolling them on the work surface between your fingers (as in the photo).
As they are ready, place the dough balls on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. When all are placed, cover them and let them rise for another 30 minutes.
After this second rise, press each ball with your hands directly on the baking sheet to form discs about 4–4¾ inches (10–12 cm) in diameter.
Cover the surface of each mini pizza with the tomato purée previously seasoned with olive oil and salt.
Bake in a static (conventional) oven for 15–18 minutes, then remove from the oven, add the mozzarella (previously cut into small pieces and drained of any excess liquid) and return to the oven until the mozzarella melts. At the end of baking, the edges and bottom of the mini pizzas should be nicely golden.
Once out of the oven, transfer your homemade bar-style mini pizzas to a tray and add a fresh basil leaf on each one 😉.
