Once a standard at Japanese coffeehouses known as kissaten, pizza toast satisfies our collective appetite for simpler times when nothing could beat melted cheese on toast. “It isn’t real pizza,” says chef Tim Anderson of London’s Nanban

Tim proposes two versions: A riff on classic Japanese pizza toast and an homage to Franco Pepe’s Mistaken Margherita, reimagined as a Italo-Japanese flag.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (425 degrees F)

For classic Japanese pizza toast:

1 thick slice white bread
1 slice mortadella, cut into 3 strips
1 tablespoon tomato passata
1 slice Dairylea cheese (substitute American cheese single)
30-t0-40 grams (about 1 ounce) mozzarella, torn into strips
4-5 thin strips roasted orange or red pepper
chopped chives for garnish

1. Use a sharp knife to core the top of the bread slice to divide the bread into three roughly equal bands or sections, being care not to cut all the way through the bread. (This will make it easy to break off sections after the pizza toast is ready to eat.)

2. Top each vertical section of a mortadella strip. Top with tomato passata, a slice of Dairylea cheese and the mozzarella. Place on perforated pan or wire rack and cook in oven until toast is crisp but not the cheese is golden but not brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven. Garnish with roast pepper strips and chives.

For Mistaken Margherita Pizza Toast

1 thick slice white bread
30-t0-40 grams (about 1 ounce) mozzarella, torn into strips
2 teapoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pesto
1 tablespoon passato

1. Use a sharp knife to core the top of the bread slice to divide the bread into three roughly equal bands or sections, being care not to cut all the way through the bread. (This will make it easy to break off sections after the pizza toast is ready to eat.)

2. Top the bread with the mozzarella and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Place on perforated pan or wire rack and cook in oven until toast is crisp but not the cheese is lightly golden but not brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven. Lay the pesto over the top third of the toast. With the tomato passata, make a circle across that extends across the bottom third section. 

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The Margherita Sbagliata (“Mistaken Margherita” or “Margherita Done Wrong”) is the signature pizza of Franco Pepe, the world’s pre-eminent pizza chef. It’s a deceptively simple pizza topped only with mozzarella before it goes in the oven. Once fully baked, the white pizza is finished with red dashes of tomato passata and green dots of basil and olive oil pesto.

For home pizza chefs, Franco proposes two versions of his minimalist masterpiece: A pan pizza baked in an electric or gas home oven and a stone pizza baked in a traditional Neapolitan style oven.

1 small tin plum tomatoes, preferable San Marzano
1 bunch basil (about 10 grams)
extra virgin olive oil
85-90 grams (about 3 ounces) buffalo or cow’s milk (fior di latte) mozzarella, torn into strips
salt
1 dough ball (240-260 grams)

To make the passata:

Drain the canned tomatoes of the juice, saving juice for other uses, and blitz the tomatoes until smooth, either with an immersion blender or puree in a food processor. Strain through a sieve or food mill. Transfer to squeeze bottle..

To make the basil and olive oil pesto:

Wash and dry the basil leaves, combine with 150ml extra virgin olive oil and 1 ice cube (to preserve green colour of pesto) and blitz with immersion blender or in food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and transfer to squeeze bottle.

To make the pizza in a pan:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees C (480 degrees F)

2. Spread olive oil liberally over the surface of a 25cm (10 in) low-sided square or 30cm (12 in) round baking pan.

3. Transfer dough to baking sheet and turn in oil until throughout coated. Spread the dough gently with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 to 3 hours.

4. With oiled hands, push and stretch the dough into the corners or the edges of the pan. Transfer to oven and bake for 5 minutes.

5. Remove from oven, distribute mozzarella evenly over the pizza, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, return  to oven and bake until the bottom of the pizza is golden, about 5 additional minutes.

To make the Margherita Sbagliata in a pizza stone:

1. Place a baking stone in the oven preheat oven to 250 degrees C (480 degrees F)

2. Dust a work surface with flour. Open up the dough ball on the surface, flattening it with your fingertips and pushing the air bubbles out from the centre of the dough to the rim. Press down on the dough with the fingertips of both hands. Release your left hand to grab and gently stretch the dough. With your left hand still holding the dough, turn it over onto your your right hand. Return the dough to the surface and repeat.

3. Distribute the shredded mozzarella evenly over the pizza base, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, transfer to oven and bake for 7-to-8 minutes.

To finish the pizza:

Remove the pizza from the oven and draw dashes of tomato passata and dots of basil pesto over the surface.

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Franco Pepe’s Pizza Dough

(makes 6-to-7 dough balls for 6-to-7 pizzas 30-cm/12-in pizzas)

800 grams (6-2/3 cups) “00” flour
500 ml (2 cups) water
22 grams (4 teaspoons) salt
5g (1-1/2 teapoons) fresh yeast (substitute 2.5 grams active dry yeast dissolved in warm water)
15 grams (1 tablespoon) sourdough starter

1. Place about 100 grams (just under 1 cup) flour in a large mixing bowl, add water and the salt and mix with your fingers to dissolve.

2. Gradually add another 300-to-350 grams (3 cups) flour with one hand while you mix in with the other hand. Break the yeast with your fingers and add to the flour mixture. Add the sourdough starter.

3. Gradually add the remaining flour as you mix by hand. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your fingers, about 15 minutes.

4. Transfer dough back to the bowl and let rest at room temperature for 4 or 5 hours.

5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 240-to-260 gram (9-ounce) parts and form into balls. Let rest for 2 hours.

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No-Knead Pizza Dough
(makes 4 dough balls for 4 pizzas 30-cm/12-in pizzas)

This go-to pizza dough from Ooni Pizza Ovens is a reliable, no-fuss method. It requires no-kneading and can be ready-to-go in 5 hours. Unused portions can be frozen for future use.

300 grams (1¼ cups) warm water
10g (2 teaspoons) salt
7 grams (1-1/2 teaspoon) active dried yeast
500 grams (4 cups) “00” pizza flour (substitute bread flour)

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and yeast and give it a quick stir.

2. Add the flour and mix well with a spatula, until no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl. Cover with towel and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Remove the flour from the bowl. Mix and stretch the dough gently with your hands to bring it together and form into a rough ball. Transfer to a floured work surface (or return to bowl), cover with towel and leave at room temperature for 4 hours.

4. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Working with 1 part at a time, turn so the smooth side is up and the seam side down. Form into a dough ball, pressing and smoothing the dough from the top and then pressing up into the bottom, leaving the top smooth. Use the edges of your hands to smooth and seal the bottom. 

5. Place unused dough balls in a plastic container and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

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