From West Hollywood,

chef Daniele Uditi shares

his signature recipe with
La Cucina Italiana.
November 17, 2021

At his L.A. restaurant, Pizzana, noted chef

Daniele Uditi wows diners with his use of
creative flavor combinations, freshly-
sourced ingredients, and unique Southern
Italian techniques. But the real star of the
show is his dough—made with a 64-year-
old starter he ferried over from Italy in a jar.

While you may not have that secret

ingredient at home, Uditi’s recipe for his
signature Cacio e Pepe Pizza will result in
something equally satisfying.

Pay attention to his first advice: "For

accurate results, I suggest using grams
because they are much more precise than
cups and ounces".

Cacio e Pepe Pizza by Chef Uditi

Makes 4-5 pizzas, about 250 gr each

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough

1000 g King Arthur bread flour or Caputo
650 g water, room temp 
35 g sea salt 
5 g active dry yeast

For the Parmigiano Crema

2 cups of cow’s milk ricotta by Di Stefano,
Galbani or belGioioso
1 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano 
1 cup of regular heavy whipping cream 

For assembling the pizza

Flour or semolina
Extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup of regular heavy whipping cream
1 2/3 cup of grated dry whole milk
mozzarella
2 ½ cups grated fresh mozzarella
5 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Crema

Tools:

Scale to measure grams (can be found at

Smart & Final or Williams Sonoma)
2 pizza stones
Wooden pizza peel
Wire cooling rack

Method:

For the pizza dough

In a bowl, add the flour and water and

combine until the mixture comes together.
Let rest for 30 minutes (this process is
called autolysis). 

Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water and

add to flour and water mixture. Knead until
all the yeast is absorbed. 

Once the yeast is fully absorbed, add the

salt and continue mixing. The process of
kneading should last 10-15 minutes to
start developing some gluten. 

Let the dough rest for at least an hour

before dividing and rounding.  

After 1 hour, start dividing the dough in ball

shapes of 250 grams each. Place each ball
of dough on a tray or in a plastic container
and let proof at room temperature for 5-6
hours. The balls of dough should double in
size. 

For the Parmigiano Crema

Place ricotta, Parmigiano and whipping

cream in a blender. 

Blend until consistency is creamy and store

in a squeeze bottle or bowl. 

Let set in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours

before using.

For assembling pizza

Place one pizza stone on the bottom rack of

your oven and another one on the top rack.
Preheat oven for 1 hour at 500 degrees F or
on broil. This will help the stone absorb
some heat and give you an extra 50-100
degrees. 

Sprinkle a little semolina or flour on a

wooden pizza peel. Stretch the dough in a
circular shape and place it on the pizza
peel. 

Brush the crust with olive oil and spread 1½

tablespoons of regular heavy cream on
dough. Spread to the edges without
touching the crust. 

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of dry whole milk

mozzarella and 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella
evenly over the dough. Last, sprinkle 1
tablespoon of Parmigiano Reggiano on top. 

Slide the pizza onto the bottom pizza

stone and let cook until crust is golden
brown. Approximately 6-7 minutes,
depending on your oven. 

Place the pizza on a cooling rack for 30

seconds. This will allow any initial steam to
release.

Cut your pizza into slices and squeeze or

spoon over 1 tablespoon of Parmigiano
Crema on each piece. Finish with cracked
black pepper over top.

Buon appetito!