Pictou County Pizza

Pictou County Pizza

A beloved regional pie from Nova Scotia's Pictou County, featuring a tender hand-shaped crust, a sweet-savoury tomato sauce, generous shredded mozzarella, and the signature finishing flourish of pepperoni arranged under the cheese and peeking around the edges.

Prep

25 min

Cook

18 min

Total

43 min

Serves

2 pizzas (serves 4)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bread flour, plus extra for dusting; high-protein flour gives the chewy Pictou crust
• •7 g (2¼ tsp) instant yeast, one standard packet
• •10 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt
• •10 g (2 tsp) granulated sugar
• •350 ml (1½ cups) warm water, around 38 °C / 100 °F
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil, plus extra for the bowl
• •400 g (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes, San Marzano-style if available
• •60 g (¼ cup) tomato paste
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil, for the sauce
• •5 g (1 tsp) dried oregano
• •3 g (½ tsp) garlic powder, not fresh garlic; Pictou sauce is mild and smooth
• •3 g (½ tsp) onion powder
• •3 g (½ tsp) fine sea salt, for the sauce
• •3 g (½ tsp) granulated sugar, balances the acidity
• •450 g (1 lb) low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded from a block; pre-shredded is acceptable but blocks melt better
• •90 g (3 oz) cup-and-char pepperoni, the small, crispy cupping style traditional in the Maritimes
• •5 g (1 tsp) dried oregano, to finish
• •5 ml (1 tsp) olive oil, for drizzling the crust edges

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: In a large bowl whisk the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the warm water and 30 ml olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic; the dough should spring back when poked. Shape into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot 1-1½ hours until roughly doubled.
2. 2 Make the sauce while the dough rises: Whisk together the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm; the sauce should be slightly sweet and well seasoned.
3. 3 Preheat the oven to 260 °C (500 °F) with a pizza stone or heavy steel on the middle rack for at least 45 minutes. If you do not have a stone, preheat an inverted heavy baking sheet.
4. 4 Divide the dough into two equal pieces (about 440 g each). On a floured surface, gently stretch each piece by hand into a roughly 30 cm (12 in) round, leaving a slightly thicker edge for the crust. Do not use a rolling pin if you can avoid it; hand-stretching gives the airy, chewy texture Pictou pizzas are known for. Transfer to parchment lightly dusted with flour or semolina.
5. 5 Spoon about 180 g (¾ cup) of the cooled sauce onto each dough round and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon, leaving a 2 cm border.
6. 6 Scatter 225 g (½ lb) of the shredded mozzarella over each pizza. Lay half the pepperoni slices on top of the cheese, then tuck the remaining slices around the exposed dough edge so they crisp up between crust and cheese.
7. 7 Slide the first pizza (on its parchment) onto the hot stone or steel. Bake 8-10 minutes until the crust is deeply golden, the cheese is bubbling and the edge pepperoni has cupped and crisped. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped.
8. 8 Remove with a peel or tongs, slide onto a cutting board, sprinkle with a pinch of oregano and a thin drizzle of olive oil. Rest 2 minutes before slicing. Repeat with the second pizza.