The semolina pizza with zucchini flowers and sausage is a true explosion of flavors and textures: a soft dough and rustic thanks to re-milled semolina and boiled potatoes, paired with a creamy and flavorful topping that combines ricotta, melting mozzarella, sautéed sausage, and fresh zucchini flowers.
An irresistible mix that captivates with the first bite, perfect for serving at a dinner with friends or a special evening.
The dough, like that of the Bonci pizza, has a long fermentation in the fridge (24 hours), making it light and digestible. The use of re-milled semolina and boiled potato in the dough, as for the famous Apulian focaccia, makes it particularly soft. The folding rounds give structure to the pizza dough, while the topping is added in two stages to ensure optimal cooking and well-balanced ingredients. In particular, we will add the zucchini flowers at the end because they cook in very little time, and always lastly the mozzarella, to achieve a super cheesy pizza. The quantities indicated in the recipe are for 4 pizzas, but with the same dough, you can make many different pizzas, and in the next articles, we will suggest two other excellent toppings perfect for pizzas to be enjoyed in company.
We will guide you step by step, with practical tips, tasty alternatives, and answers to the most common doubts.
Discover also:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Day
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer, All Seasons
Ingredients for Semolina Pizza with Zucchini Flowers and Sausage
- 2 1/2 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 2 1/2 cups Manitoba flour
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 5.3 oz potatoes, peeled, cooked, boiled
- 0.21 oz fresh yeast
- 0.42 oz salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- 10.5 oz ricotta
- 7 oz sausage
- 10.5 oz mozzarella
- 10 zucchini flowers
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Tools for Semolina Pizza with Zucchini Flowers and Sausage
- Stand Mixer
- Bowl
- Pastry Board
- 4 Baking Trays
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
- Pan
How to Prepare Semolina Pizza with Zucchini Flowers and Sausage
Dissolve 0.21 oz of yeast in 1 cup of water.
Pour the semolina, Manitoba flour, and mashed potato into the stand mixer’s bowl.
Add the water with yeast and start kneading with the dough hook.
You will get a rough mixture: cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.
Take the dough again, add 0.42 oz of salt and the remaining 1/3 cup of water a little at a time, waiting for it to be absorbed before adding more.
When the dough is smooth and detaches from the sides, transfer it to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a cloth, and let rest for another 30 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
Spread it into a rectangle and perform 3 rounds of envelope folds, every 20 minutes.
Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and transfer to the fridge for 24 hours.
After the time has passed, divide the dough into 4 loaves.
Place them on a floured surface, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for 1–2 hours until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, peel the sausage, cut into pieces, and brown in a pan with a drizzle of oil.
Clean the zucchini flowers by removing the pistil and cut them into strips.
Dice the mozzarella.
Roll out each loaf into a disc, directly on greased or parchment-lined trays.
Spread the ricotta on each base, drizzle with a bit of oil, and bake at 482°F for 6 minutes, switching the trays halfway through cooking.
Remove from the oven, add the mozzarella, sausage, zucchini flowers, and another drizzle of oil.
Bake again for 4 minutes, always switching the trays.
The Semolina Pizza with Zucchini Flowers and Sausage is ready!
Storage
The pizza is best enjoyed fresh from the oven, but you can store it in the fridge for 1 day, well sealed in a container. Before serving, heat it in the oven at 356°F for a few minutes.
Variations
Vegetarian: remove the sausage and add zucchini slices or thin potatoes.
With stracciatella: replace the ricotta with Apulian stracciatella for a creamier result.
With burrata: add fresh burrata at the end of cooking.
Useful Tips
Use good quality re-milled semolina for a more fragrant and structured dough.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead by hand: just arm yourself with some patience.
For a crunchier base, leave the tray on the bottom of the oven during the first minutes of cooking.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I use dry yeast instead of fresh yeast?
Yes, you can replace the 0.21 oz of fresh yeast with about 0.07 oz of active dry yeast.
Can I use other types of cheese?
Sure! Provola, scamorza, or crescenza are great alternatives.
