American
California-Style Pizza
Fresh, seasonal, rule-breaking — the pizza that started a revolution.
Recipe by Cyman Huang
Cooked, styled and photographed in his kitchen.
California-style pizza was essentially invented at Spago in Los Angeles in 1982, when Wolfgang Puck started putting smoked salmon, crème fraîche and caviar on a wood-fired flatbread. At Chez Panisse, Alice Waters' kitchen was doing similarly avant-garde things with pizza as a vehicle for seasonal produce.
The philosophy: treat the dough as a canvas and use whatever is best right now, from the best local sources. Figs and prosciutto, roasted corn and goat cheese, arugula and shaved Parmesan — improbable combinations that taste extraordinary.
Watch it come together
Ingredients
For California-style dough
- 2¾ cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 cup (240ml) cold water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the signature topping (fig, prosciutto & Gorgonzola)
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche or ricotta
- 6 fresh or dried figs, quartered
- 3 oz prosciutto di Parma, torn
- 3 oz Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 oz fresh arugula
- 2 tbsp honey for drizzling
- 2 tbsp toasted walnuts
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Alternative (avocado & corn)
- 3 tbsp olive oil base
- 1 cup roasted corn kernels
- 1 avocado, sliced (added after baking)
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- Lime zest and juice to finish
Method
- 1
MAKE DOUGH: Combine all dough ingredients and mix to a cohesive dough. Knead 8 minutes until smooth. Divide into two balls, place in oiled bags or containers and refrigerate 24–48 hours.
- 2
Remove dough 2 hours before use. Preheat the oven with a pizza stone to 525°F (or as high as possible) for 1 hour.
- 3
STRETCH each dough ball into a thin, roughly 12-inch round and transfer to a floured peel.
- 4
FOR THE FIG PIZZA: Spread a thin layer of crème fraîche over the dough, arrange fig quarters over the surface and dot with Gorgonzola.
- 5
BAKE 8–10 minutes until the crust is golden and blistered and the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
- 6
FINISH after baking: Drape prosciutto over the hot pie. Toss arugula with olive oil and a pinch of salt and scatter over the top. Drizzle with honey, scatter walnuts and crack black pepper generously.
Substitutions
- Chef's Tip: The California pizza philosophy is seasonal. Summer: tomatoes, basil, burrata. Fall: butternut squash, sage, brown butter. Winter: radicchio, pears, Taleggio. The technique is the constant; the toppings belong to the season.
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