History

Portland's pizza identity took shape in the early 2000s as Apizza Scholls (Brian Spangler, opened 2005) built a Neapolitan-meets-New-Haven thin-crust template using Pacific Northwest-milled flour and a 24-hour cold ferment. Ken Forkish (Ken's Artisan Pizza, opened 2006) refined the wood-fired approach with seasonal Oregon toppings. Lovely's Fifty Fifty in North Mississippi runs a farm-driven Northwest version (the dish lineup changes weekly with what the city's farms bring in). The Portland pizza scene is regularly cited (Eater, Pizza Today, Bon Appetit) as the strongest in the Pacific Northwest.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 30 minTotal 24 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 500g 00 or strong bread flour
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 2g instant yeast
  • 330ml lukewarm water
  • 15ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • For the sauce: 1 (400g) tin whole San Marzano tomatoes (hand-crushed)
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 300g fresh mozzarella (torn into pieces; drain on kitchen paper for 15 minutes before topping)
  • 200g toppings of the season: in autumn, sauteed chanterelles with garlic; in spring, blanched asparagus tips; in winter, fennel sausage and red onion
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Grated Parmesan
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing

Method

  1. Make the dough 24 hours ahead: mix flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil; mix to a shaggy dough.
  2. Knead 8 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer until smooth and elastic.
  3. Cover; cold-ferment in the fridge for 24 hours (this is the Portland flavour signature; the slow rise builds complexity).
  4. Two hours before baking, divide the dough into 2 balls (250g each); rest at room temperature.
  5. Heat the oven to its highest setting (typically 260°C / 500°F) with a baking steel or pizza stone on the middle rack for at least 45 minutes. A pizza oven at 480°C is ideal but a home oven works.
  6. Mix the sauce: hand-crush the tomatoes; combine with olive oil, salt and oregano in a bowl. Do not cook.
  7. Stretch one dough ball on a lightly floured surface to a 28cm round, leaving a 1cm raised edge. The centre should be very thin.
  8. Transfer to a floured pizza peel. Spoon 4 to 5 tbsp sauce in a thin layer to within 1cm of the edge.
  9. Scatter torn mozzarella over; add seasonal toppings; tear a few basil leaves on.
  10. Slide onto the hot baking steel. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until the crust is deep golden with charred spots, the cheese is bubbling and the edges are puffed.
  11. Repeat with the second dough ball.
  12. Finish each pizza with a snow of Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and a few more basil leaves. Slice and eat immediately.

Tip from the editors. A baking steel beats a stone; the conductivity gives a charred bottom in 8 minutes. Skip the 24-hour cold ferment and you miss the Portland crust profile.

Where to eat pacific northwest wood-fired pizza

Pacific Northwest wood-fired pizza in Portland

Apizza Scholls ★ 4.6

Pizza$$hawthorne-belmontDaily 17:00-21:00

Brian and Kim Spangler's 18-inch sourdough pies on SE Hawthorne in Portland, in business since 2004 and still the canonical Portland Neapolitan pizza.

Signature: Pizza margherita, Calzone

Order: The classic Margherita with house mozzarella

Tip: Phone orders open at 16:00. Dough sells out on weekends; arrive by 17:30 or risk no pie.

4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215 Book →

Ken's Artisan Pizza ★ 4.5

Wood-fired Pizza$$hawthorne-belmontTue-Thu 17:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 17:00-22:00, Sun 16:30-21:00

Ken Forkish's wood-fired pizza room on SE 28th in Portland, the pizza arm of his bakery empire with naturally leavened dough and seasonal toppings.

Signature: Wood-fired margherita, Monday-night meatballs

Order: The margherita with house-cured pepperoni

Tip: Reservations on Tock for the dining room. Monday-night meatballs sell out by 19:00.

304 SE 28th Ave, Portland, OR 97214

Lovely's Fifty Fifty ★ 4.6

Pizzeria$$mississippi-williamsDaily 17:00-22:00

The Smith family's whole-grain sourdough pizza and house-churned ice cream room on N Mississippi in Portland, all foraged toppings and seasonal flavours.

Signature: Wood-fired pizza, House-made ice cream

Order: The pie with chanterelles and fontina, in season

Tip: Walk-in only with a handful of booths. The ice cream rotates weekly with foraged flavours.

4039 N Mississippi Ave, Ste 101, Portland, OR 97227

More cities are in research. Want pacific northwest wood-fired pizza covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →