Whether you nip it, tuck it, dress it up or down, add colour, flavour or a new dimenstion, zhoosh up up your pizza and turn it into an eye-catching dish. Try this brioche pizza with fennel bulb, bocconcini, figs and hazelnuts.
Brioche pizza with fennel bulb, bocconcini, figs and hazelnuts
Ingredients
BRIOCHE BASE
- 30ml (2 tbsp) lukewarm milk
- 5ml (1 tsp) castor sugar
- 6g instant dry yeast
- 240g cake flour + extra, to roll
- 2,5ml (½ tsp) salt
- 2 eggs
- 80g butter, cubed and softened
TOPPINGS
- 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced + leaves, to garnish
- 6 figs, finely sliced
- 100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 x 150g tubs bocconcini, drained and torn (available at woolworths.co.za)
- vine tomatoes
- butter, to dot
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- honey, to drizzle (optional)
Instructions
For the brioche, combine the lukewarm milk and the castor sugar in a large jug. Add the yeast and gently mix into the milk mixture. In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, salt, eggs and milk mixture, and stir to incorporate, about 5 minutes.
Mix the soft butter cubes into the flour and milk mixture, little by little. Knead until a dough is formed, about 10 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and set aside to prove in a warm place, 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Roll the dough out on a flour-dusted surface and form 3 oblong pizza bases in a rustic fashion, using a little flour to aid rolling. Place one of the bases on a piece of baking paper and transfer to a baking slide. Top with the fennel bulb slices, fig slices, chopped hazelnuts, bocconcini and vine tomatoes. Dot with butter and season to taste. Bake the bases, one at a time, about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Serve the pizza warm, garnished with a sprinkling fennel leaves and a drizzle honey, if desired.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
