A white pizza (pizza bianca) built on a quick crème fraîche-style sauce made from heavy cream and yogurt, no cooking required.

White Sauce

Quick version (5 min) 1 batch

  • heavy cream
  • plain whole-milk yogurt (thick, not watery)
  • Pinch of fine sea salt

Better version 1 batch

  • heavy cream
  • plain whole-milk yogurt
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • Pinch of fine sea salt

Quick version: mix together and rest 10 minutes. Use immediately, don’t refrigerate before using.

Better version: whisk until slightly thickened. Use immediately.

Amount per pizza: 1.5 tbsp sauce per 250g dough ball. Spread in a thin smear, not a thick layer.

Assemble and Bake

  1. Stretch dough ball to roughly 12 inches on a well-floured surface.
  2. Spread a thin layer of white sauce, leaving a 1-inch border.
  3. Add a light layer of fresh mozzarella.
  4. Drizzle with olive oil. Crack black pepper over the top.
  5. Slide onto a preheated pizza steel at 290°C / 550°F. Bake 4–5 minutes until the crust blisters and the cheese just melts.

Variations

Garlic white pizza: Add a tiny pinch of finely grated raw garlic to the sauce before spreading.

Honey finish: After baking, drizzle a small amount of honey over the hot pizza. Works especially well with fresh mozzarella and a good olive oil.

Desi white pizza: Sauce of cream + yogurt + pinch salt + pinch sugar. Top with thinly sliced onion, crumbled paneer, and sliced green chilli.

Notes

  • Use thick yogurt. Watery yogurt makes the sauce run and the crust soggy.
  • Don’t build ahead, make the sauce right before using.
  • Less is more: too much sauce, even a thin one, steams rather than bakes.