Pizza quattro formaggi
The white pizza of four cheeses: fior di latte, gorgonzola, fontina and Parmigiano melting together on a blistered crust, with no tomato.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 8 hr
- Total
- 8 hr 40 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pizza quattro formaggi is a white pizza, a pizza bianca, with no tomato at all: four cheeses melting together on the dough. Each brings something different. Fior di latte, cow's-milk mozzarella, is the milky, stretchy base. Gorgonzola dolce adds a soft blue tang, fontina from the Valle d'Aosta melts smoothly and tastes of butter and nuts, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano brings salt and depth. Keep the quantities modest, because four cheeses on a thin base can turn greasy. Tear the mozzarella and leave it to drain for an hour so it doesn't make the pizza watery. Scatter the cheeses evenly, with the gorgonzola in small pieces so no single bite is all blue, and finish with a thread of olive oil. Done is a golden, bubbling pizza with a puffed, spotted rim and a molten mix of mild, nutty and sharp cheeses.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Dough
- Topping
Ingredients
Dough
- Wheat flour, tipo 00300 g
- Water, cool190 ml
- Yeast, fresh, or a pinch of dried1 g
- Salt8 g
Topping
- Mozzarella, fior di latte, torn and drained150 g
- Gorgonzola, dolce, in small pieces70 g
- Fontina, diced70 g
- Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated30 g
- Olive oil, extra virgin15 ml
- Black pepper (optional)1.2 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Dissolve the yeast in the water, mix in the flour, then the salt, and knead until smooth. Cover and rise 2 hours, then divide into two balls and rise 6 hours more, or 24 hours in the fridge.
15 min
Step 2
Heat the oven to its highest setting with a steel or upturned tray inside for 40 minutes.
40 min280°C
Step 3
Press each ball out from the centre with your fingers, leaving a thicker rim. Scatter the mozzarella, fontina and gorgonzola evenly over the base, then the Parmigiano, and drizzle with oil.
5 min
Step 4
Bake until the rim is puffed and spotted dark and the cheese is bubbling, 6–10 minutes at home, about 90 seconds in a wood oven. Finish with pepper, if using.
10 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1218 kcal
- Protein
- 55.9 g
- Carbs
- 118.6 g
- Fat
- 56.3 g
- Saturated fat
- 31.5 g
- Fibre
- 4.3 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 3119 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Vegetarian
Vegetarian only with vegetarian versions of Gorgonzola and Parmigiano Reggiano: the traditional cheeses are made with animal rennet.
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Fontina → Taleggio or smoked provola
Both common pizzeria choices for one of the four.
Tips
- Drain the mozzarella in a sieve for an hour: wet cheese makes a soggy white pizza.
- Go easy on quantity; four cheeses add up fast.
History & culture
It is on almost every pizzeria menu in Italy, ordered by people who want something rich and cheesy, and pizzaioli each choose their own four. Taleggio, provola or pecorino often stand in for fontina or gorgonzola. Italians never add tomato to it, and many pizzerias finish it with a little black pepper.
White pizzas are older than the tomato in Naples, but the four-cheese pizza is a twentieth-century pizzeria creation, and nobody has recorded who first made it. It spread with the pizzerias that opened across northern and central Italy after the Second World War, where the north's cheeses, gorgonzola and fontina, met the southern pizza.
Traditional — A white base of fior di latte, gorgonzola, fontina and Parmigiano. No tomato.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Pizza quattro formaggi take?
8 hr 40 min all in — 30 min prep, 10 min cook, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 2 pizzas. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 8 g.
What can I use instead?
Fontina → Taleggio or smoked provola. Both common pizzeria choices for one of the four.
Any tips from this recipe?
Drain the mozzarella in a sieve for an hour: wet cheese makes a soggy white pizza. Go easy on quantity; four cheeses add up fast.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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