This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE PIZZA. I know how obnoxious all capital letters are, but that was intentional because that is how good this pizza is! I want to yell it from the rooftops! It is a sweet and spicy twist on a traditional pizza. On top of a fluffy Sicilian style crust is a thick herby tomato sauce, topped with heaps of fresh mozzarella, spicy sopressata, and fragrant basil. But the true love story begins when pizza met.... hot honey! If you have never tried hot honey, be ready to be mind blown. It's spicy and sweet; it is like candy with a kick.
My first job was at Barros Pizza! I mostly worked there to fund my ranch addiction (they have the best ranch in the whole entire world). After working the cash register for a while, I would always peek through the window to the kitchen to see pizza tossing in the air. It didn't take long for my curiosity to strike. After shifts, we would experiment with pizza toppings and flavors. Countless combinations! One night, we even made a cinnamon apple dessert pizza! If only I had discovered hot honey back then... maybe I would have consumed less ranch.
Spicy Sopressata Pizza with Hot Honey
Equipment
- 16-inch Pizza Pan
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
- 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ¾ cups warm water
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons butter melted, to brush crust before and after baking
Pizza Sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Hot Honey
- 1 cup honey
- 6 dried chili peppers chopped
Pizza Toppings
- 12 ounces fresh mozzarella drained and torn into rough chunks
- 6-10 ounces hot sopressata
- 10-15 fresh basil leaves
- fresh parmesan optional
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- In a bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, salt, water, olive oil, and flour.
- Knead on low or hand knead until dough starts to come together. Continue kneading until the dough forms a soft ball, and all sides of the bowl are clean. Add more flour if needed to achieve this texture.
- Dust a sheet pan with flour and set the dough on it. Lay a hand towel on top of the dough and rest for 5 hours.
Pizza Sauce
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix tomato paste and tomato sauce together until smooth.
- Add the oregano, fresh parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and mix again.
- Set aside.
Hot Honey
- Add honey and chopped dried chiles to the saucepan. Heat over low-medium heat to a bare simmer. Do not boil!
- Just as the mixture starts to simmer, turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes to infuse the chiles.
- Remove from heat and strain mixture into an airtight container.
Put it all together
- Preheat the oven to 550F.
- On a 16-inch pizza pan, place your dough. Gently stretch dough the size of the pan, about ¼ inch thick. Make edges of pizza dough a little thicker to form the crust.
- Spread a layer of pizza sauce around the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Brush melted butter on the crust edges and sprinkle garlic powder and dried parsley.
- Grab the fresh mozzarella, rip chunks with your hands, and place them evenly dispersed over the pizza. Followed by the spicy sopressata, and followed by the basil leaves.
- Transfer pizza to the oven and cook for approximately 16-20 minutes or until the crust is golden and toppings are bubbly.
- Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Brush crust with remaining melted butter. Drizzle hot honey on top and fresh parmesan.
Lydie says
Oh my gosh this was the best pizza I’ve ever made. The flavors were so good you would have thought it was made at a restaurant. The hot honey was the best sweet addition. I made this for my friends and they loved it! Overall it was a very easy recipe which I liked! I ended up marking two 14” pizzas with this exact recipe. My oven was refusing to heat to 550 so I got impatient and it ended up baking between 425-475 for 20 minutes so the crust ‘crunch’ wasn’t as good as it would be if my oven weren’t stubborn. My crust really stuck to the pan which could have been avoided if I had added some flour the pan while forming the crust. I will 100% be making this again, and now want to try infusing more honey!
Emma Essence says
Thank you so much for such a thorough review! I am so glad you love the hot honey as much as I do! It is fun to make and can be added to so many things for additional flavor and spice. I appreciate the feedback and review!
Samantha Cote says
I made this pizza and it is SO GOOD. I had never had hot honey before, let alone on pizza, and it was hands down the best topping I've ever had. I will never look at pizzas the same after this one. Recipe was very clear and easy to follow. My oven only went up to 500 degrees so I let it bake for around 22 minutes and it was perfect! 10/10 recommend!
Emma Essence says
RIGHT! Hot Honey is life changing. I am trying to figure out all the different ways I can use it now. I am glad to hear the pizza came out perfect at 500 degrees for 22 minutes. Thanks for the review!
ashok says
My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Emma Essence says
Thanks so much for the review Ashok! I am so glad to hear you and your family loved the pizza.