Umami Pizza

Ready to double down on savory for your pizza? It’s time to learn about “the fifth taste” and how to use it to make the ultimate umami pizza!

What is Umami?

Look up the definition of umami (which originated in Japan: 旨味) and you’ll be interested to learn that the translation of umami is not as straight forward as you’d think! The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition is particularly ambiguous but trusty Wikipedia gives something a little more straight forward and even includes some of the science behind how it works.

Commonly referred to as “the fifth taste” (alongside salty, sweet, bitter, and sour), umami is savory. And “deliciousness”. Who am I to argue?

In technical terms, our taste receptors detect the presence of the L-glutamate (an amino acid). Back in 1908, Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda isolated the chemical monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is the principle mechanism for bringing L-glutamate to our palate. Manufactured MSG does have a bad rap in some circles (health effects and potential addiction) but it seems the science is not definitive (the FDA calls MSG “generally safe to eat”.

However, we can make umami pizza using just naturally occurring MSG, which will be our focus today.

Umami Toppings

MSG naturally occurs in some foods like yeast, tomatoes, and cheese (we’re off to a good start for our pizza!) and a number of great topping choices for pizzas, including cured meats, mushrooms, and anchovies.

So let’s explore some of the these ideas for how to increase the umami in your pizza and a recipe for the ultimate umami pizza!

Cheese Choices

According to the International Glutamate Information Service, parmesan cheese is right at the top of free glutamate – i.e. this is going to bring savory to your pizza! Sprinkling a healthy does of parmesan on top of your pizza sauce but under your other toppings is going to be step number one.

Another option is Roquefort (i.e. blue cheese). This is also very high in umami flavor – but it’s also going to be a very strong flavor overall for your pizza. None of the other ingredients we’re going to discuss are likely to keep up, so use sparingly or not at all.

Really, any strong aged cheese is going to contribute some umami (although none as much as these two). Feel free to try grating a medium-aged gouda, which will still melt very nicely!

Umami Pizza Dough

Well, if you’re not afraid to try it, you can certainly add a small amount of powdered MSG to your dough as you make it. But why not try something a little different?

Autolyse Your Dough

If you’re making pizza dough from scratch, this can be done with a very simple change to your process. The process of “autolyse” is when you mix your water and flour before adding the other ingredients. The principle is that the water and flour start to interact before the other ingredients are added and makes the dough more yeast-ready. Simply add the water and flour together in a bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), cover, and let rest for 30-60 minutes. Do this before activating your yeast and adding it to the dough.

Furikake

Ever thought to add furikake to your dough? Furikake is a Japanese seasoning made with seaweed, salt and various combinations of soy, bonito flakes, dried fish, sesame seeds, or even wasabi. It’s commonly used as a seasoning for rice, but it’s very umami flavor is a great option here! Note some furikake has additional MSG, so check the ingredients.

Soy Sauce

You’re also welcome to add a little soy sauce to your dough. Try replacing 2 tablespoons of water with soy sauce.

Umami Pizza Sauce

There’s not much to say here – ripe tomatoes have umami, so you’re already adding savory umami if you use any tomato-based sauce. You can try one of our sauce recipes or you can perhaps try a classic Italian sauce used on Neapolitan Margherita pizzas!

Other Umami Toppings

Depending on your own personal preference, there are a number to choose from.

• Seaweed or kelp (in particular, kombu)
• Bonito fish flakes
• Dried tomatoes
• Anchovies
  • If these intimidates you, you can try blending a few into your sauce.
  • Note that anchovies are very salty as well as umami.
• Mushrooms – in particular Shiitake and Shimeji
• Cured meats – in particular Parma ham (also known as Prosciutto)
• Garlic (although not all that much)
• Kimchi (like Rochefort/blue cheese, I’d recommend going easy here as it could mask all of the other flavors)
• Truffles (or truffle oil)
• Olives (black or green, both have a salty & meaty umami flavor)

Generally speaking, I’d suggest going easy on the total amount of toppings unless you’re doing a pan pizza. Otherwise you risk the pizza not cooking through.

Some Topping Combinations to Consider

• Our Ultimate Umami Pizza (recipe below!)
• Mushroom pizza (featuring shiitake)
• Mediterranean combination of green and black olives, anchovies, mushrooms, and Parma ham
• Asian combination of dried kombu, (and/or furikake), shiitake mushrooms, bonito flakes, and kimchi

Pairing

An abundance of savory/umami is going to benefit from a palate cleanser between bites. Green tea has umami in it, so that’s not going to be a good choice! Good old water is going to be a good choice partly because of the salt content of most umami ingredients. And of course you may prefer a glass of wine – in which case it’s recommended to avoid those high in tannins and instead go for crisp, acidic, and slightly sweet.

In Closing

Your own Ultimate Umami pizza is just like everyone’s own ultimate pizza – it’s what you like best! But to get you started, here is our Ultimate Umami Pizza Recipe!

October 20, 2024