Pizza Carrée – Algerian Pizza: Best Pizza Dough

5.0 from 2 votes

Surprise yourself with this simple but delicious version of pizza:: pizza carrée is a well-known pizza in Algeria. It is characterized for being square and the main toppings are tomato sauce and black olives.

In Algeria, it is considered "street food". In any neighborhood you can find a place that sells pizza carrée, and the most amazing thing is that you can get it for only 20 cents!

Every time I make a pizza carrée, my family goes crazy. Kids love it too (just be careful if you use pitted olives on it). The pizza base is crunchy and the interior is fluffy and soft. The tomato sauce, made with natural tomatoes and a little fresh basil, is not only very easy to make, but also delicious. It is much lighter than a pizza that has many ingredients such as cheeses. With this pizza carrée you can serve 4 to 6 people.

Seriously, as simple as it may seem, there is no way pizza carrée will disappoint you.

Ingredients you need to make a pizza carrée

This recipe combines two of my favorite foods: a crispy crust and a fluffy and soft inside, together with a homemade tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes. To make the tomato sauce, follow the tomato sauce recipe and here. Below, I leave you the list of ingredients you need to make the dough:

• Flour: you need 500 grams of all-purpose flour
• Olive oil: yes, this pizza base has olive oil, to be exact you need 100ml + a little extra to put on the pizza dough, before the tomato sauce
• Sunflower oil: or any oil with a neutral flavor to put on the baking paper before putting the dough. You only need two tablespoons.
• Baker´s yeast: for this recipe you need one bag baker's yeast (8 grams)
• Sugar: you need a tablespoon of sugar to help activate the yeast
• Salt: so that the dough does not remain bland, 12 grams of salt are needed
• Black olives: you can use black olives with bone or without, as you prefer
• Parsley: optional, to decorate the pizza once it comes out of the oven
• Water: and lastly you need water

Kitchen tools you need to prepare this pizza carrée

• Large bowl: to mix all the ingredients for the pizza
• Spatula: to mix the ingredients
• Kitchen towel: you will need to cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel
• Kitchen scale: to measure the amount of flour and salt you are going to use
• Large oven tray: en la cual vas a hacer la pizza
• Baking paper: to prevent the dough from sticking
• Pizza cutter
• Fork: to prick the pizza dough once extended
• And the utensils you need to make the tomato sauce

How to make this delicious pizza carrée

Making a pizza carréé is no mystery, as soon as you make it for the first time, you will see that it is very easy to repeat. It's as easy as making the dough, and while it rests, prepare the tomato sauce.

First mix the flour and olive oil in a large bowl, ideally do this with your hands so that all the flour gets impregnated with olive oil. Let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes, so the flour absorbs the oil well (this step could be skipped if you're in a hurry).

Mix half a glass of lukewarm water with the yeast and sugar. Let stand until the yeast activates, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the mixture of water, yeast and sugar to the flour and oil mixture and knead by hand. Add warm water little by little until you get a light, non-sticky dough. You can flour the kitchen counter to knead the dough until you get the desired consistency, ideally about 5 to 10 minutes.

Grease the bowl with olive oil and cover it with a damp kitchen towel for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven at 210º.

Once the dough has doubled in size, put a baking paper on the baking tray and add about two tablespoons of sunflower oil. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the center of the baking tray, the dough is very easy to handle. You can flatten it and shape it by hand. Once the dough is equally spread out over the tray, ideally let it rest for about 10 minutes. Then prick with a fork all over the dough and drizzle it with some olive oil and finally add the homemade tomato sauce (click for recipe). Place the olives in such a way that when you cut the pizza into squares, they are in the middle.

Bake it for about 15-20 minutes. The cooking time depends on each oven, so check it from time to time. You know the pizza is done when it's golden around the edges. If you want, decorate it with a little parsley.

And now enjoy the delicious freshly made pizza carrée!

Below I answer some frequently asked questions about the pizza carrée, if you do not find the answer, you can leave a comment below.

Can I use a small tray?

No, this recipe is made for a conventional baking tray. If you don't have a large baking tray, you can make the dough with half the ingredients and use a mold/tray half the size of a conventional baking tray.

Can I add vegetables to the pizza carrée?

Of course you can add vegetables! You can put all the extras you want on this pizza. It is very good with red pepper cut into very thin strips. You could also add onion, mushrooms or any vegetables you fancy.

How do I store the leftovers?

You can store leftover pizza carrée in the fridge for about 3 days. Ideally, store it in tightly closed tuppers so that it keeps better.

How can I reheat pizza?

You can reheat the pizza in the oven or microwave. It will be better if you put it in the oven for a few minutes. But if you're in a hurry, or you don't want to turn on the oven to heat up a few pieces of pizza, you can put it in the microwave for a minute.

Can I use only the recipe for the pizza dough to make another type of pizza?

Of course you can! This pizza dough is delicious no matter what toppings you add. Let your imagination go and create your own favorite pizza.

Save this Pizza Carrée recipe on Pinterest!

Save this recipe on Pinterest so that you won't lose it. Like this, when you go are going to make it, you don't go crazy looking for this recipe on the website. You just have to click on the Pinterest button below where it says “Spread the love”, and this recipe will automatically be saved on a board on your Pinterest account.

If you like this recipe, check out the following recipes

• You will love this Algerian Coca, it's made with an easy-to-make homemade dough and filled with a spiced tomato and onion sauce.
• This Algerian recipe for stuffed zucchini and potatoes with minced meat in a delicious sauce is very easy to make and it's a healthy recipe. here for this Algerian Dolma recipe.

Did you make this recipe?

Make a photo and add the hashtag #cocinandoconoumbilal

I would love to see your creations on Instagram, you can also tag me in your stories: @recetasbyoumbilal