Follow me on my Baking Journey :

Homemade Heart Shaped Pizza

30 minutes

medium

3 pizzas

The cutest Homemade Heart Shaped Pizza! Made with a super easy home-made pizza dough (when I say super easy, I really mean it), cut into cute heart shapes and finished with delicious toppings. This is the cutest pizza you can make for your loved one. Make it together as a fun experience or as a surprise. This could also be a fun recipe to make with your kids. Especially if they love to get into the kitchen and get their hands messy. No matter who you want to show love to, this recipe is perfect, and it’s fun to make.

About this recipe

I have never done a Valentine-theme recipe, until now. And I will be completely honest, I do not normally celebrate Valentines Day. Leon and I marked Valentines Day twice until we decided it felt a little unauthentic. It is not a concept that I grew up with either. I never witnessed my parents celebrate this date or any other adults around me. Maybe in Serbia during the 90’s, Valentines Day was not a thing at all. Once we moved to New Zealand, this day gradually became known to me, but for some reason it just does not float my boat.

However, this year I remembered the very first pizza Leon and I made when we started dating. My mum had to help us make the dough. Back then I had no idea how to make it. I suppose through spontaneity we decided to make the pizza into a heart shape and topped it with tomato paste, salami, and lots of cheese. It was so delicious. I am sure that we ate it all in one night! I still have the photos of this pizza. If you want to see them, scroll down below. 

So, the inspiration for this Valentines Day recipe was this memory of us making pizza. And even though I am not into celebrating Valentine’s Day, I am a big believer in showing love through food. Making food for others is my love language. If you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding and remember how much the women love to feed their families, then you will have an idea of Serbian women being almost the same! So many scenes from that movie remind me of my culture that I end up laughing to the point of tears. 

Anyway, onto the making of this delicious heart shaped pizza. A pizza you can make on any day for any reason, not just for Valentines.

The Pizza Dough

I told you that the recipe for the pizza dough is super easy to make, and I mean it.

You will want to start by preparing the yeast mixture. In a bowl combine the lukewarm water, sugar, and yeast. Mix and let it rise for 5-10 minutes until foamy. In a separate bowl, add the flour and salt. Create a well in the middle, add the olive oil and the yeast mixture (once it is ready). Mix the dough with a wooden spoon or with a stand mixer using a dough hook. After a few minutes of mixing, place the dough onto a floured surface, using your hands, shape it into a ball. Place the dough in a bowl greased with some olive oil. Cover and let the dough rest for one hour or until it doubles in size. If you live in a colder climate, the dough may take longer to rise. 

Shaping The Dough

Once the dough is ready, punch it down to release any trapped gas. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into two equal pieces. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, cover with a towel and let rest for a further 20 minutes.

To shape a heart, place one piece of the dough on a sheet of baking paper and roll into a flat circle. Roll out the dough until it’s about 30cm wide. Alternatively, shape the dough and the heart-shape directly on the baking tray, lined with baking paper. 

Once you have rolled out the dough, using a knife, cut an outline of a heart shape. Once you are happy with your shape, using a sharp knife, cut out the heart shape, removing any excess dough. Slide the heart-shape pizza into a baking tray. The size and shape of your heart will depend on how you prefer your heart shape. Bake each pizza in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges start turning a golden brown colour.

The toppings

The toppings for this pizza are made with popular pizza toppings – tomato paste, lots of cheese, mozzarella, or cream cheese (depending on what you have) and peperoni or pizza salami. Cream cheese may sound like a strange topping, but I have used it a couple of times on homemade pizzas, and I really love it. The cream cheese holds its shape throughout the baking process and tastes delicious too! Just be sure to add small dollops of cream cheese at a time. 

For this recipe, you can use as much or as little of the ingredients on top of your pizza. This will depend on your preferences. I like my pizzas to have a moderate number of toppings. You can also add different toppings to your pizza and only use the dough part of this recipe. The choice is entirely up to you. 

Some Tips

Heart Shape Forming the pizza into a heart shape may be the more challenging part of this recipe. The easiest way to shape your dough is to roll it out into a circle that is about 30cm wide. From there use a sharp knife to draw an outline of the heart shape. Once you are happy with your outline, cut the shape and remove any excess dough. The excess dough can serve as a third, smaller pizza.

Baking Paper – I recommend shaping your pizza dough directly onto a piece of baking paper. This means that your pizza will not lose shape once transferred onto the baking tray. From there, you can easily slide the baking paper onto your baking tray without it falling apart.

Baking sheets or pizza pan – This pizza can be baked on a pizza pan if you have one. However, if like me, you do not have a pizza pan, you can also bake it on baking sheets.

Heart Shape Salami/Ham – Use a heart shape cookie cutter to shape your salami or ham into cute heart shapes. This is entirely optional, but fun if you want to get more creative with the pizza making process.

Different toppings – You can 100% use different toppings for your heart-shaped pizza. This is a forgiving recipe so have fun with it and make it your own.

Pre-baking the crust – This recipe does not call for the crust to be pre-baked. However, if you prefer to bake your crust first, bake for 6 minutes. Then add your toppings and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Looking for more?

If you are looking for more ideas, try one of the recipes below:

Persian Inspired Love Cake

Sour Cherry & Filo Pastry Pie

Chocolate & Mascarpone Cake

This Homemade Heart Shaped Pizza makes date night extra special! This recipe creates a delicious pizza dough, and as for the toppings – you can make them entirely your own! Leave a comment and let me know how this recipe turns out for you. If you get a moment, please leave this recipe a rating. If you get a little stuck or have any questions, you can also reach me over on Instagram

Reviews

Ingredients:

Adjust Servings
For The Dough
10g instant dry yeast (one sachet)
2tsp sugar
250ml lukewarm water
400g all purpose flour
1tsp salt
3tbsp olive oil
+ extra flour, for dusting the surface
For The Toppings
100g tomato paste
100g pizza salami
100g salami or ham
250g grated cheese
100g cream cheese

Directions

1.
Making The Dough
In a small bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast and mix well. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbly.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer, add the flour and salt. Make a well in the middle. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the yeast mixture once it has proofed. Combine the ingredients with your hands or with a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth. Then transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape the dough into a ball. Place the pizza dough into a bowl, greased with olive oil. Let it rest in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
Mark as complete
2.
Shaping The Dough
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Punch down the risen dough and transfer over to a floured work surface. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a ball, cover with a towel and let rest for a further 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take one dough, place it onto a piece of baking paper and roll it out into a circle. Once the dough is shaped into a circle, use a sharp knife, and outline a heart shape. Once you are happy with your outline, use a sharp knife to cut out the heart and remove any excess dough.
Mark as complete
3.
The Toppings
Once your first pizza is shaped, add the toppings, the sauce, cheese, ham, and salami. Brush the edges with olive oil or melted butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. In the meantime, shape the second dough into a heat shape and add the toppings. *If you have enough left over dough, make a third, smaller pizza.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Mark as complete
Notes
If your pizza has a thicker crust, reduce the oven temperature so that the dough has a chance to bake all the way through before the outside gets too dark.
Store leftovers in an airtight container or a zip lock bag.
If you want to re-heat the pizza, heat it in the oven to prevent it from getting soggy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *