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September 15, 2026

New Hampshire Mushroom & Taleggio

Foraged hens-of-the-woods, taleggio, thyme, a hit of lemon when it comes off the peel. This one tastes like the woods smell in October.

Prep
20 min
Cook
3–4 min
Yield
One 10–12 inch pizza
  • mushroom
  • taleggio
  • white pizza
  • fall
  • new england
  • foraged

In September and October, hens-of-the-woods mushrooms — maitake, if you’re buying from a market — start showing up at the base of oaks around here. They’re unmistakable: big frilly clusters, tan and brown, growing in rosettes close to the ground. They smell like the forest floor. They taste like what you’d want a mushroom to taste like.

This pizza came out of a farmers market trip where we bought more than we needed and had to figure out what to do with them. Taleggio was in the cheese case. That combination — earthy, funky, fatty — turned out to be one of the best pies we’ve made. No red sauce. No mozzarella. Just the mushrooms, the cheese, thyme, and a squeeze of lemon at the end that makes everything else louder.

We make it in fall. It wouldn’t be right any other time of year.

Ingredients

For the mushrooms:

  • 8 oz hens-of-the-woods (maitake) mushrooms — or cremini if that’s what’s available, sliced thick
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • ½ teaspoon Baleine fine sea salt
  • 4–5 sprigs fresh thyme

For the pizza:

  • 1 dough ball (about 250g), stretched to 10–12 inches
  • 3 oz taleggio, rind removed, torn into rough pieces
  • 1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for the base
  • Flaky salt and black pepper
  • ½ lemon, for finishing
  • Fresh thyme leaves, for finishing

Instructions

1. Cook the mushrooms

This step happens before the pizza goes on the peel. Don’t skip it — raw mushrooms on a fast oven will steam and turn rubbery rather than roast.

Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. When shimmering, add the mushrooms in a single layer — don’t stir for the first 2 minutes, let them make contact with the pan. Add the garlic and thyme sprigs, season with salt, and cook another 3–4 minutes until the mushrooms are golden and reduced by about half. Pull from heat and let cool slightly. Remove thyme sprigs.

2. Build on the peel

Stretch your dough ball and lay it on a floured peel. Work quickly — dough on a peel is borrowing time.

Brush the surface with olive oil, leaving a half-inch border. Scatter the Parmigiano evenly over the oil. Distribute the taleggio pieces — don’t try to cover every inch, leave gaps, the cheese will spread and pool.

Pile the mushrooms on top. Season lightly with black pepper and a pinch of flaky salt. No additional salt — the taleggio and Parmigiano are already doing the work.

3. Launch and bake

Ninja Woodfire: Pizza mode, stone preheated to 650°F+ surface temperature (check with infrared thermometer). Launch and cook 4–5 minutes, rotating once at the 2-minute mark. The cheese should be fully melted and beginning to brown at the edges. The crust should be deep golden with char spots.

Ooni: Preheat at least 20 minutes on high. Launch onto the stone, cook 60–90 seconds, rotate 180°, another 60–90 seconds. Watch the cheese — taleggio moves fast at Ooni temperatures.

4. Finish

Slide off the peel onto a cutting board. Immediately: a squeeze of lemon over the entire surface, a scatter of fresh thyme leaves, and a few flakes of salt. Let it sit 90 seconds before cutting — taleggio needs a moment to set or it runs off the slice.

Notes

On taleggio: Buy it from a cheese counter if you can, not pre-packaged. It should smell assertive but not alarming — barnyard, not spoiled. The rind is edible but turns papery at oven temperatures; removing it gives you a cleaner melt.

On the mushrooms: Hens-of-the-woods can vary enormously in size. Break or cut them into pieces no larger than a silver dollar before cooking — larger pieces won’t have time to cook through in a 3-minute bake.

On sourcing: If you’re in New Hampshire or Vermont, check farmers markets in September–October. If you’re buying from a grocery store, maitake is the same mushroom under its Japanese name. Cremini or shiitake will work but give a less interesting result.

On white pizzas generally: Without sauce to balance the salt, go lighter on the cheese than you’d instinctively reach for. The taleggio is rich. Two ounces is enough; three is the maximum before the pie tips into heavy.