Pizza Portuguesa
The Pizza Portuguesa is one of Brazil’s absolute favourite toppings. It is a wonderfully loaded pizza that balances rich, savoury proteins with the brightness of onions, peas, and hard-boiled eggs. Baking this classic in the CASO Design PizzaChef 430° requires a slight tweak to our strategy. Because a Portuguesa has a lot of heavy, moisture-rich toppings, we want to drop the temperature slightly and bake it for just a minute longer than a standard Neapolitan. This ensures the dough cooks beautifully all the way through without burning the top.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the PizzaChef 430: Approx. 15 min. Turn on the PizzaChef 430° and set it to Manual mode. Set the top heat to 370°C and the bottom heat to 360°C. This slightly lower temperature ensures the heavy toppings cook through perfectly without scorching before the base is done.
- Stretch and Prep: 2 min. Stretch your dough ball out into a 12-inch disc on a lightly floured surface. Keep the base relatively uniform so it can support the weight of the toppings. Transfer the stretched base onto your floured pizza peel.
- The First Layer: 3 min. Spread the tomato passata evenly over the dough, leaving a small border for the crust. Scatter the shredded mozzarella, then evenly distribute the torn ham and the paper-thin slices of Calabresa sausage.
- Add the Delicate Toppings: 1 min. Arrange the thin onion rings, green peas, and black olives across the pizza. Finally, place the slices of hard-boiled egg on top. Crucial tip: Ensure the peas and eggs are well-drained so they do not release excess water onto the pizza stone.
- The Balanced Bake:2.5 to 3 min. Launch the pizza onto the hot cordierite stone and close the door. Because this pizza is loaded, it will take around 2.5 to 3 minutes to bake fully. Use the viewing window to monitor progress, and use your peel to rotate the pizza 180 degrees halfway through for a perfectly even, golden crust.
Notes
The Authentic Brazilian Finish: The moment the pizza comes out of the oven, scatter a generous pinch of dried oregano over the hot cheese and drizzle a thin stream of high-quality extra virgin olive oil over the top. In Brazil, a Pizza Portuguesa is never served without that fragrant hit of oregano and oil at the very end.
