Skip to main content

"4 Stagioni" Pizza...An Authentic Dish Inspired By Our Trip to Italy


I've been so excited to share this recipe with you! This really does taste JUST like the pizzas we had in Italy. Brad and I were really looking forward to trying the pizza there. This particular kind, 4 Stagioni, was without a doubt our favorite pizza to order.

By now, you know that I love, love, love prosciutto, so after browsing the extensive menus in Italy, this one always caught my eye. It's topped with 4 amazing ingredients - Prosciutto di Parma, Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts and Black Olives. Each ingredient is placed in its own quadrant on the pizza.

Since we've been back, I've made this recipe countless times already. Every time I eat it, it transports me straight to Venice, Florence and Rome. We noticed that the big difference in the Italian pizza and what we were used to back home was the minimal toppings. There's only a thin layer of sauce...a thin layer of cheese....and the toppings aren't piled high. The secret is fresh, quality ingredients...for this recipe, less is more! If you don't like the idea of separating the ingredients into quadrants, feel free to sprinkle all 4 ingredients over the entire pizza. I've made it several times like that as well.
And this dough...WOW...Frank Stitt never fails to deliver an amazing recipe. This dough is perfect! It produces a wonderful crust with a scrumptious taste and flawless texture.

Have fun with this recipe! You will LOVE it...it is truly delicious!!!

4 Stagioni Pizza

Ingredients:
Basic Pizza Dough (recipe below)
1 jar Cento pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Mushrooms, sliced and washed
Prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced
1 jar marinated Artichoke hearts, chopped
Black olives, pitted
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 F....or to the highest temperature your oven will go.

Sprinkle pizza stone with cornmeal. Place one of the three portions of pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll dough until a thin circle. Place dough on the pizza stone. (Don't worry if your pizza dough isn't perfectly round...it will only give it rustic charm!)

Next, place a thin layer of pizza sauce on the dough, followed by a thin layer of mozzarella cheese...remember not to go crazy here, only add a thin layer of each! Next, you'll place one of the four toppings in each quadrant of the pizza:

Quadrant 1 = Prosciutto di Parma
Quadrant 2 = Black Olives
Quadrant 3 = Mushrooms
Quadrant 4 = Artichoke Hearts

Now, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil around the outer edge of the pizza (on what will be the crust of the pizza). Using your fingers, spread the olive oil over the entire crust. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the toppings.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 - 13 minutes, or until cheese sizzles and crust is golden brown. Keep an eye on it...it will bake fast!

In Italy, we noticed that they never sliced the pizza into triangles like we usually do here in the USA. One reason is that the pizza is so thin...it would be hard (and too messy!) to pick up and eat. If you want to eat this like a true Italian, use your knife and fork! ;)

Basic Pizza Dough
Source: Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm water (105 F to 115 F)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I substitute 1/2 cup bread flour)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Cornmeal for dusting (optional)

Directions:
Pour the warm water into a small bowl, stir in the honey, and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Set aside to proof until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Combine the flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and a sturdy hand mixer). Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and mix on low speed until the dough forms a mass on the paddle and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (Note: I usually have to add a little extra flour near the end of mixing, if the dough is still too wet. Add a little at a time, if needed....in 1 tbsp. increments, until the dough comes together)

Remove the dough and divide it into 3 equal portions. Put on a flour-dusted baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes, or until almost doubled. (You can make the dough ahead and refrigerate it overnight if necessary; allow it to come to room temperature before continuing).
The dough is ready to be rolled and baked. You can hold the rolled dough at room temperature for a short while on a sheet of parchment paper that has been dusted with a little cornmeal.

Comments

Christina said…
This looks so good and just like the picture you took of it in Italy! I love the whole just cutting into it with a knife and fork :)
Plain Chicken said…
I made the pizza last night. It was awesome! Thanks for the recipe. I love all your pictures of Italy. I am inspired to finally plan my trip!!
Celeste said…
Steph - I'm SO excited that you liked the pizza!!! It's my new favorite. ;)
Anonymous said…
Here I am in January 2010 poking about for squash and mushroom pizzas. My search led me to your blog, then back to this dough recipe out of curiousity.

I have been using Molly Katzen's Moosewood recipe for years; same kind of raves you give Frank. They look similar, though yours uses more ollie and that twist of other flour. Have to give it a shot. In the meantime back I go to your recent page.

Foodies rule!
D
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Tia said…
With raves like that i've gotta try it. Is this a thick-chewy or thin-crisp?
Elaine said…
We are eating this pizza right now! I made a pizza buffet with tons of ingredients that people can make their own. We are having such a wonderful time, thanks!
Squeeze said…
I have been using Frank Stitt's recipe since my husband and I visited his Highlands restaurant over a year ago..my sweet husband bought me both cookbooks on our trip. This is the best pizza crust I have found, hands down. Trying to convince my husband to try the olives and artichoke hearts..he devours the prosciutto.

Popular posts from this blog

Absolutely Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use. UPDATE:   Since originally writing this post in 2008, I've  made these cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas!  They are a holiday tradition that my family looks forward to all year!  You can see my other posts here, with lots more photos of these sinful cinnamon rolls: CHRISTMAS 2009 CHIRSTMAS 2010 CHRISTMAS 2011 The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas

My Favorite Quiche!

***It's not often that a recipe is worthy of re-posting.  I think I've only done that once or twice in the entire time I've written this blog.  However, this is one of those rare occasions.  Back in 2009 when Brad and I went to Europe, we had the most amazing Quiche Lorraine at the incredible Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris.  It was delicious and was served alongside a yummy salad of fresh greens (Quiche Lorraine sur Salade Verte).  Oh, it was heaven on a plate!  It also didn't hurt that we were sitting on the patio of one of the most famous cafes in Paris, after all...haha.  The atmosphere and people-watching in that particular area are hard to beat. I'll never forget the elderly lady that was sitting at the table right next to us (the tables were situated pretty close together).  She was dressed to-the-nines, was all by herself, and was just the quintessential, classy Parisian lady.  I wish more than anything that I had tried to strike up a conversation with her

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven.   Don't you agree?  This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007!  In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern.  Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else.  Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention.  This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had.  An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out