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Daniele Uditi

Pizza Bianca
S23E3 Italian · 2020
Where to find them
● @danieleuditi

Daniele Uditi is from Caserta, in the province of Naples, where pizza is not a food but a kind of regional pride. He moved to Los Angeles, opened Pizzana in Brentwood with Chris O'Donnell (yes, that one), and now operates four locations across the city. The Pizzana style is romano-meets-napoletano: thinner than Naples, more elastic than Rome, with a 48-hour cold ferment that produces a crust most American pizzaiolos cannot reproduce.

He beat Bobby with pizza bianca — white pizza, no tomato — which is the version that exposes the dough most cleanly because there is nothing to hide behind. Bobby's pizza, per the judges, "had a lot going on." That was the polite line. The blunt line was that he was hiding from his own crust.

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Pizza Bianca

30 min Prep
25 min Cook
4 Serves
Ingredients
  • 1 lb pizza dough, room temperature
  • 4 oz whole milk ricotta, room temperature
  • 3 oz fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces
  • 2 oz aged Pecorino Romano, finely grated
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Maldon sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • Cornmeal for dusting
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 475°F for 30 minutes with a pizza stone or steel on the middle rack.
  2. Stretch dough into a 12-inch round on a cornmeal-dusted peel, working gently to avoid deflating. Create a slight lip around the edge.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk ricotta with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper until smooth and spreadable.
  4. Distribute ricotta mixture evenly across dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Scatter mozzarella pieces and most of the Pecorino Romano over the ricotta.
  5. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Add rosemary and thyme, cooking 30 seconds more. Drizzle infused oil across the pizza.
  6. Transfer pizza to preheated stone and bake for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are melted and slightly bubbling at the edges.
  7. Remove from oven and immediately top with remaining Pecorino Romano and a pinch of fleur de sel. Let rest 2 minutes before slicing.
  8. Cut into 4 large slices and serve immediately while the ricotta is warm and creamy.
Inspired by Daniele Uditi’s winning pizza bianca. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.
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