This corn, chorizo, and jalapeño pizza combines Mexican flavors with a puffy and charred Neapolitan-style pizza crust. The dough is topped with a fresh tomato sauce spiced with chile de arbol, and then it’s piled with cheese, spicy chorizo, sweet corn, and pickled jalapeños, which bring acidity and heat. Garnished with avocado and cilantro, this pizza is neither traditionally Italian nor Mexican, but it is 100% delicious.
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To prepare the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, combine all the dough ingredients (except for the semolina or cornmeal). Mix until a shaggy, sticky dough forms without any dry, floury patches, less than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides to gather the dough into a rough ball. Cover and set aside.
After 30 minutes, use a bowl scraper or your wet hand to grab a section of dough from one side, lift it up, and press it into the middle to seal. Repeat, turning the bowl 90° (a quarter turn) between each stretch, until the dough won’t elongate easily, about 8 to 12 times total. This process, which is called a bowl fold, replaces kneading.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature, undisturbed, for at least 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours. This forgiving dough will be fine with more or less time, but a longer rise will make shaping easier. While the dough is rising, make the sauce.
To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, place the tomatoes, garlic, and chile de arbol. Cover the ingredients with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the tomatoes are completely cooked and easily pierced with a paring knife, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the cooked tomato mixture in a blender or food processor, along with the onion and salt, and process until smooth.
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tomato mixture, bring to a simmer, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Add the broth, return to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 18 to 20 minutes, uncovered, until well-seasoned and thickened — a spatula dragged across the bottom of the sauce should leave a line for a couple of seconds. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside to cool. You should have about 1 cup (270g) sauce.
To cook the chorizo: In a medium skillet, cook the chorizo over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Break up any large pieces with a spoon or spatula and cook until chorizo is brown and starting to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chorizo to a bowl; set aside.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently deflate it and divide it in half (about 270g per piece).
Shape each piece of dough into a rough ball by pulling the edges into the center. Turn the dough seam-side down, cover, and let rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour, until it’s relaxed enough to stretch.
To prepare your oven: Preheat the oven to 500°F with a baking steel or stone inside on the middle rack. You need at least 8" clearance between your pizza and the broiler — otherwise, the pizza will burn before the bottom has had time to bake through. (A bottom-drawer broiler will not work here; see “tips” below for more information and alternative instructions.) Make sure your oven is at the required temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking so the steel or stone can fully preheat.
To shape the pizzas: Transfer one ball of dough to a sheet of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Sprinkle the top with flour. Use your fingertips to gently depress the round, stretching and pulling the dough gently into a 10" circle. Take care to leave a thicker rim around the circumference for a beautiful bubbly outer crust.
Move your shaped dough to a pizza peel, a thin wooden cutting board, a rimless baking sheet, or an inverted baking sheet. Trim the excess parchment around the dough to prevent it from burning.
Spread about 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce onto the dough. Top with 1/2 cup (57g) of the cheese and half of the corn, chorizo, and pickled jalapeños, then cover with another 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Bake the pizza for approximately 6 minutes on the steel or 7 minutes on the stone.
Turn on the oven’s top broiler and continue cooking the pizza for 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly and charred around the edges. Keep a close eye on the pizza at this stage and rotate it as needed to prevent burning on the top. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool slightly while you top it with slices of avocado, Cotija cheese, and cilantro.
To bake the second pizza, switch your oven back to bake mode and allow the steel or stone to reheat while you shape and top the remaining piece of dough. Bake the second pizza using the method described above (steps 14 and 15). Slice and serve the pizzas while still warm.
Storage information: This jalapeño pizza is best eaten immediately. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
Tips from our Bakers
You will have about 1/2 cup of leftover pizza sauce. Freeze it for the next time you want to make this recipe, or reserve it for another use.
Warning: DO NOT place your pizza under a broiler with less than 8" of space between it and the cooking surface. Broiling instructions for this recipe are written for an oven equipped with a top broiler. If you have an oven where the broiler is on the bottom (usually in the bottom compartment of the oven) or on top in a smaller, separate compartment, make sure there's at least 8" between the broiler and the cooking surface. If you can't use the broiler, preheat your oven and steel or stone as instructed, but bake your pizza (do not switch to “broil” mode) — you’ll need to add a few additional minutes to the cook time.
The maximum temperature rating for most parchment paper is below 500°F, and at temperatures between 450°F and 500°F parchment’s exposed edges begin to char. To be safe, keep a close eye on anything being cooked at temperatures above 450°F (especially anything on an upper rack). Burned edges can also be minimized by trimming away excess parchment before baking.
