Cacio e Pepe Pizza

hand picking up cheese and black pepper topped pizza

Cacio e pepe translates to “cheese and pepper” which are basically the only two things on this pizza.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword cheese, pepper, pizza

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Servings (10-inch) pizzas

Calories 727kcal

Equipment

Pizza Stone (optional)
Pizza Peel (optional)

Ingredients

1 pound pizza dough, get the recipe here
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling out the dough
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces whole milk fresh mozzarella
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare dough according to recipe or let rise if needed.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add butter and allow to melt. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute until a pale golden brown. Add the milk, whisking to incorporate. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Slowly whisk in the Parmesan cheese until melted and completely combined. Set aside until ready to use.
Place pizza stone on the grill or in the oven and heat to 500ºF (260ºC).
Divide the dough in half and on a lightly floured surface, working one half at a time, roll out each half of dough into about a 10-inch circle. The dough should be fairly thin. Place the dough on top of the pizza peel lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. If you do not have a pizza stone/peel then prepare the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Rub half the olive oil over the pizza dough including the edges. Use a pizza peel to slide the dough with parchment paper underneath it onto the pre-heated pizza stone. Cook until the crust is a pale brown and bubbly, about 6 minutes.
Top with 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cream sauce and evenly spread around the dough, leaving about ½” crust around the edges. Tear the mozzarella into large pieces and arrange half over the top. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the cracked pepper.
Return to the hot pizza stone and continue to cook until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, about 8 minutes. Remove and cut into equal pieces. Repeat with the remaining pizza dough and ingredients.

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