By Ham El-Waylly
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus at least 2 hours’ proofing
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour, plus at least 2 hours' proofing
- Rating
- 4(266)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The influence of Italian immigrants is apparent in Argentinian pizza culture: Immigrants brought focaccia with them, which morphed into a focaccia-pizza hybrid known as fugazza, a thick pizza topped with cheese and shaved onions. This got dialed up a few notches to become fugazzeta. In a fugazzeta, two pizza crusts are sandwiched around cheese before being crimped shut and topped with a heap of thinly sliced onions. The onions may initially seem like overkill, but don’t skimp: They soften and char, providing a nice reprieve from the copious molten cheese.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2¼cups/315 grams bread flour
- 2teaspoons/8 grams kosher salt
- 1teaspoon/3 grams instant yeast
- 2teaspoons/8 grams olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons/215 milliliters lukewarm water
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 5ounces provolone, sliced
- 2cups/6 ounces shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 1large onion, sliced as thinly as you can, preferably with a mandoline (about 3 cups)
- 3cups/720 milliliters ice cold water
- 1¾cups/2 ounces grated Parmesan
For the Dough
For the Filling and Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
696 calories; 29 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 72 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 35 grams protein; 1408 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Prepare the dough: Combine the bread flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute to combine. Add the olive oil and water, and mix on medium until it comes together into a smooth dough, is no longer sticky, and has reached optimum gluten development, 15 to 17 minutes. (You can test gluten development by stretching a small lump of dough between your fingers; when it’s ready it will stretch into a thin, see-through film without tearing.)
Step
2
Lightly drizzle the dough ball with more olive oil then tightly wrap the bowl in plastic wrap. Set aside to proof in a warm area in your kitchen until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. When you gently poke the dough with your finger, a small indent should remain.
Step
3
Prepare the filling and topping: Divide the dough into 2 even pieces. Rub the bottom and sides of a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet with the olive oil. Stretch out one portion of dough into an even disk that covers the bottom of the pan. Shingle the provolone in the center, leaving a ½-inch border. Top with the mozzarella, maintaining that ½-inch border along the edges. Evenly sprinkle with oregano, red-pepper flakes and a pinch of salt.
Step
4
Stretch the remaining portion of dough into an even disk slightly wider than your pan’s size. Drape the disk of dough on top of the cheese and pinch the edges of the top and bottom rounds of dough together, securing all the cheese inside. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm area to proof for another 30 minutes.
Step
5
In the meantime, in a large bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of salt and the ice water. Soak the shaved onion in the salt water.
Step
6
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Step
7
Drain the onions, spin them dry in a salad spinner, then pat dry with paper towels. Evenly top the fugazzeta with the grated Parmesan, shaved onion, a drizzle of olive oil and a large pinch of salt. Bake until onions have shriveled and charred in spots and the dough is golden brown underneath, 25 to 30 minutes.
Step
8
Turn the broiler on high and broil until the onions are deeply charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes, then slice into wedges and serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
266
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Cooking Notes
Mark Ira Lefkowitz
Hi Thank You for the recipe. I would like to add a few adjustments for the best focaccia on the planet. Been improving and even went to the San Francisco Baking institute to master.weigh everything to the weight of the flour. I use 400 gramsliquid is 65% of the flour 260gms olive oil is 8%, 32 gms fresh regiano parmesean 8% or 32 grams in doughpreheat water to 104 for best Activationmixer is 2 mins speed 1 to absorb, then 3 mins speed 2 to glutanizeENJOY
Andy
Soaking the onions softens their flavor and removes some of the pungency. If you buy a sweeter variety such as Vidalia you might omit this step.
Jeri L
Soaking the onions in ice water is to make them milder and possibly not inclined to bitterness when deeply charred. What you call "flavor" are the sulfur compounds that give onions their heat.
Irene O
As a transplanted Argentine, I’d like to share that we call it pizza and not brea, and that Fugazetta is one of my top favorites (I miss it!). The onion are seldomly charred.As for the previous comment in soaking the onions in iced water before using them, it depends on the personal preference and type of onions. This is done to get rid of the extra sharpness.Yum, wish I could savor one today!
Linda S
Why soak the onions in ice water and the drain? If moisture is the problem just blot with paper towels, not remove flavor in ice water. Pointless and extra step without adding anything.
Barbara
I always find it easier to toss the spices with the cheese rather than trying to sprinkle evenly over the surface.
tbk
Is it too crazy to make this without a mixer? I assume knead for 15-20 minutes instead? I think I might give it a try this afternoon.
Dan
Pizza dough has been made successfully without mixers and dough hooks or food processors for millennia and you can make it by hand, if you like. Soaking the onions in salted ice water is a "quick pickle," and is not a "Pointless and extra step without adding anything."
BB
Fugaza is this one, a fugazetta is the same but with thinly sliced prosciutto inside the crust with the cheese and olive oil-fantastico
Emma
I know this question is going to sound like sacrilege because it turns a delicious homemade recipe into something that's, well, hardly cooking at all...but I don't have a stand mixer and I'm not very confident when it comes to bread/dough-making. Still, this would be delicious and kid-friendly if I could make it with store-bought pizza dough (or dough from a nearby pizzeria.) Can anyone tell me if this shortcut would work?
nccookin
@Emma, it would work great with store bought pizza dough. I used dough I had made a few weeks ago that I froze and it was perfect. Recipe is great, made it exactly as written and it was fantastic. (I did soak the onions, they were sweet and flavorful). I did provide pizza sauce for dipping. Next time I will use half of the provolone, and maybe a third of the mozzarella mixed with ricotta and fresh spinach. Will **definitely** make it again.
AP
Soaking in cold salt water draws out extra moisture and makes them crisp up more.
Karen S
Soaking the onions in ice water doesn't have to do with the moisture content. It helps lessen the sharpness and brings out the sweetness of them.
ChrisK
I don't have a stand mixer. Instead, I frequently use my bread machine on the dough setting.
gail
No need for a mixer. You can replace kneading with a stretch & fold technique. Google the method if you’re not familiar with it.
Mairzi
Made exactly as written except substituted Italian seasoning for oregano. Delicious and perfect served with a big salad for meatless Monday dinner, Next time I will use half mozzarella and half ricotta
Erin
I saw this on “Street Food: Latin America” and knew I needed it. I didn’t broil at the end, because it was charred enough for me after 30 minutes. Next time, I’d get better quality cheese and shred my own mozzarella for a more gooey result. Nice change of pace from the usual homemade pizza. I’d like to try this with other toppings. (Olives would be great!) Very tempted to dip this in marinara.
Grace
I only have a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Should I increase the amount of dough that I make? If so, by how much?
Laura S
I've made this twice now and I keep wondering: what kind of parmesan weighs 2 ounces and grated amounts to 1 and 3/4 cups? Go with the weight.
Joshua
After making this a few times, I find it helpful to split the dough in two parts after mixing, to rise in separate bowls. After rising, I turn one directly into my prepared pan and the other out onto the plastic wrap used to drape my rising bowls. Shaping is a breeze, and the top crust can be transferred into the pan without deforming the crust too much.
PAT
Made this with gluten free flour and no automatic mixer, after spending a half hour scouring the cast iron pan that got left in the rain. For five months (thanks New Orleans). My spouse kept eating the cheese I bought and I couldn't find my instant yeast so had to go with active. Yes soaking the onions makes them really crisp and wonderful but I don't know why it calls for an ENTIRE onion. All I really want to say is, when in doubt, go for it. It is just cheese and bread. Wheeeee!
Joe Lucca
If you want to eat it on the same day, get an early start on the dough and be sure to let the assembled pie proof (at least an hour) before cooking. That said, there is way too much salt in the dough and even more salt on top of the already salty cheese is unnecessary. Also, there could be better instructions for working with the top layer of dough. I eventually used another oiled 10-inch skillet to form the top layer into a round before topping and pinching the pie shut. Next time garlic.
Michael
I made this last night, exactly as written, and it was amazing! I kept thinking that there was a lot of cheese, but it cooked down and was the perfect amount. The dough was easy to work with and when it came out of the oven, it looked and smelled amazing. Served with a simple salad of zucchini ribbons marinated in garlic and lemon juice, then tossed with basil and pine nuts. Great summer dinner! I may add chopped olives to the cheese next time, for added flavor.
Horacio Romeo
This is my favourite pizza variety in the world.I love it, it's simply amazingly delicious.My wife makes it both filled (double dough) and just a dough topped with mozzarella and a LOT of onion, plus a touch of garlic and olive oil.
Brushjl
My son loved this. I did it all with a bread machine, super easy.
Brushjl
Delicious! My family loved it.
Phil K - aka MyDrinkingBuddyBacchus
I share the opinion about weighing all baking ingredients vs volume measurements - specifically, the "1 and 3/4 cups, or 2 oz grated" Parm. I initially measured the "volume" and that looked like a lot of Parm to me - so I thought I'd weight it to get a cross check. The weight measurement was about 1/3 the volume measurement - so I went with the weight measurement. There's already so much cheese in here that I'm not going to mention this to my cardiologist - and it turned out just fine.
Andrea Gabor
I tried this recipe using a scale for precise measurements. After the prescribed 17 minutes in the mixer, it was still VERY wet & sticky. I tried increasing the speed of the mixer & finally added a little more flour. Final product was much more like bread v focaccia. Where did I go wrong? Was the mixer on too low? Should I have added more flour sooner?
Leslie
I found the dough a challenge to stretch but like the tang of the provolone.
Bebe Watson
Can this be prepared ahead, refrigerated unbaked, then baked off?
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