🇮🇹 Italian · Pizza
🍕 Pizza ai Funghi e Salsiccia
Pizza ai Funghi e Salsiccia
A hearty, rustic pizza topped with crumbled Italian sausage and sautéed mushrooms over melted mozzarella, a popular alternative to the classic Margherita in pizzerias across Italy.
The combination of savory sausage and earthy mushrooms makes this one of the most requested non-classic pizzas in Italy, the two toppings complementing each other over a base of good tomato and properly stretched mozzarella.
Ingredients
Equipment: Large mixing bowl, Pizza stone or steel, Pizza peel, Skillet
- 500 g (4 cups) 00 flour or bread flour
- 325 ml (1⅓ cups) water, room temperature
- 10 g (1¾ tsp) fine sea salt
- 2 g (½ tsp) active dry yeast
- 300 g (10.5 oz) canned San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 250 g (9 oz) fresh mozzarella, torn
- 250 g (9 oz) Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
- 200 g (7 oz) mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Fresh rosemary or thyme
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in the water, then gradually mix in the flour and salt to form a shaggy dough.
- Knead for 10 minutes, place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Divide into 4 balls, shape into tight rounds, and refrigerate covered for at least 8 hours, ideally 24.
- Bring the dough to room temperature before baking, and preheat the oven with a stone or steel to its highest setting for a full hour.
- Cook the crumbled sausage in a skillet until browned, then set aside.
- In the same skillet, sauté the mushrooms with garlic and a little rosemary until golden.
- Stretch a dough ball by hand into a round and spread with a thin layer of crushed tomatoes.
- Dot with mozzarella, then scatter the cooked sausage and mushrooms evenly over the top.
- Slide onto the hot stone and bake for 8–12 minutes until the crust is puffed and charred in spots.
- Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.
Chef Tips
- Pre-cooking both the sausage and mushrooms prevents the pizza from becoming watery or underdone in the center.
- Break the sausage into small, irregular crumbles rather than large chunks for even distribution and cooking.
- A well-seasoned, fennel-forward Italian sausage makes a noticeable difference in flavor.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Adding raw sausage directly to the pizza, which won't cook through properly in the short bake time.
- Using watery, unsautéed mushrooms, which can make the crust soggy.
- Overloading the pizza, preventing the center from crisping properly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- A good source of protein from the sausage and cheese.
Cultural Note
Sausage and mushroom pizza is a widely loved combination across Italian pizzerias, a hearty, satisfying alternative that has become a menu staple nationwide.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten fresh; leftover pizza keeps refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Reheating: Reheat in a hot skillet or oven; avoid the microwave.
Serve with: A simple arugula salad, A medium-bodied red wine