Margherita Pizza

Alton Brown is one of my favorite chefs (TV personalities?), yet he often falls to the back of my mind. Then someone says those two magic words and I have to make whatever they are talking about, because I know it will be fantastic.



I've made margherita pizza before at home. While it was good, and hit the spot, I recently saw someone recommend Alton Brown's version. Naturally, the challenge was on. I had to make his recipe, and soon. Luckily, it's not too hard to convince my husband that I need to forgo any other plans and make pizza. He is always ready for pizza!

 

This recipe was no exception to the AB rule. Marinating and grilling the tomatoes is such a great way to add new depth to this pizza. My only complaint would be that the amount of mozzarella and tomato seems small for the size of the pizza dough. I'll admit to not measuring the size that I rolled the dough to, but I know I was in the vicinity of 16 inches and I felt the toppings were a bit sparse. It was easy to add more mozzarella and basil, but next time I will have to remember to add a bit more tomato as well. Either way, the flavor is fantastic, and is definitely my go-to way for making margherita pizza.



Margherita Pizza
Source: Slightly adapted from Alton Brown

• Enough dough for one 16" pizza (see below for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe)
• 1 large tomato, cut into 1/3-inch thick slices
• 5 to 7 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2-ounce grated Parmesan
• 4 ounces part skim mozzarella, shredded or sliced thin into rounds
• handful large basil leaves, shredded

Heat a gas grill to high and make sure the grill grates are clean and free of debris.

Toss the tomato with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic, salt and red pepper flakes in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Lightly flour the countertop and flatten the dough ball. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 16-inch round, rotating and stretching the dough as you go. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured pizza peel or baking sheet and stretch to re-shape if necessary.

Oil the grill grates and decrease the heat to medium. Brush the dough with 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil and flip onto 1 end of the hot grill, leaving room for the tomatoes on the grate. Put the prepared tomatoes on the grill, close the lid and cook until the bottom of the crust is golden brown and the tomatoes are softened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Brush the raw side of the dough with 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil, then immediately flip using the peel. Top with the grilled tomatoes, smashing and spreading the tomatoes to create a sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, mozzarella and basil. Close the lid and cook until the bottom of crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted, another 1 to 2 minutes. Shift the pizza back onto the pizza peel or baking sheet (a large, flat spatula may help), and move the pizza to a cooling rack to let rest for 3 minutes before slicing.



I was in a pinch (you know, since this urge was sudden) for pizza dough as I didn't have any of my old standby... well, on standby in the freezer. I turned to an issue of Everyday Food for a semi-whole wheat pizza dough recipe that could be made in one day. I found it easy to work with and think it makes a very good crust. One recipe make enough dough for two 16" pizzas.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Source: Everyday Food Magazine, January 2009

• 1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water
• 2 packets ( ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.

In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.

Shape one ball into desired size for pizza. Other ball can be wrapped in plastic wrap, stored in a ziploc bag, and frozen. Thaw completely in refrigerator before use.

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

We love pizza, and with my new favorite whole wheat dough recipe, we make is 2-3 times a month. I love trying out different combinations of toppings, and this time we went for the classic combo of spinach and artichokes.



There is nothing fancy going on here, but it's a great way to get some spinach in. Yay for leafy green vegetables!

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

• One portion whole wheat pizza dough
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/2 package frozen spinach
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (a number of cheeses would work well, pick what suits your fancy!)

Roll dough out to 9-10 inches in diameter.  Top with sauce, then spinach, artichokes, and cheese.  Bake on a preheated  pizza stone at 450 degrees for 7-9 minutes.  Let the pizza rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo chicken-anything is one of my husband's favorite foods. Left to his own devices with some chicken and a grill, and you are getting one of two things for dinner: BBQ chicken-something or Buffalo chicken-something. When I saw this recipe for Buffalo chicken pizza from Bridget, one of my most trusted recipe sources, I knew it would be an instant hit! 

Normally, I am not as big of a Buffalo chicken fan as my husband, but I totally fell in love with this pizza!  The combination of flavors is just perfect!


Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Serves 3-4

• 1 large bone-in skin-on chicken breast (about 12 ounces)
• salt
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¼ cup Frank’s hot sauce
• ½ teaspoon packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• pinch of sugar
• pinch of garlic powder
• 2 ounces (½ cup) mozzarella, shredded
• 1 ounce (¼ cup) blue cheese, crumbled
• ¼ cup red onion or scallions, diced very fine
• 12-16 ounces pizza dough (one third of a recipe calling for about 4 cups of flour), stretched out to 9-12 inches (Whole wheat pizza dough recipe here)
  

1. For the chicken: Stir 2 tablespoons salt into 2 cups cold water until it dissolves. Add the chicken; refrigerate for 30 minutes, then remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry. Adjust an oven rack to the middle-low position and heat the oven to 450ºF. Heat a small oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan; place the chicken breast in the pan skin-side down. Cook without moving until well-browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and move the pan to the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken measures 160ºF or the juices run clear when small cut is made in the chicken. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove and discard the skin (or eat it, because it’s crisp and delicious!) and shred the meat with your fingers or two forks. (If you’ve used good chicken, brined it, and pan-roasted it like this, I dare you not to resist stealing bites of the shredded chicken. It’s delicious.) Increase the oven temperature to 500ºF.

2. For the buffalo sauce: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar, hot sauce, and vinegar. Mix the sauce with the shredded chicken.

3. For the white sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk or yogurt, mayonnaise, sugar, garlic powder, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

4. Assemble the pizza: Place the pizza dough on a wooden paddle that’s been liberally coated with cornmeal. (Or use parchment paper instead of the cornmeal, or the back of a baking sheet instead of the paddle.) Spread the white sauce evenly on the pizza dough; top with the chicken, then the cheeses, and finally the onions.

5. Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is browned. Let the pizza rest about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza with Tomatillo Salsa

With my new whole wheat pizza dough in hand, I was off to make some fabulous homemade pizza. I'd been (patiently) waiting to make this recipe from Domestic Pursuits, and it was totally worth making... much sooner than I did. This pizza was fantastic. The tomatillo sauce totally stole the show - it's great! I added some black beans because I needed to use them up, and I think they were a great addition.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza with Tomatillo Salsa
Source: Adapted slightly from Domestic Pursuits

• Pizza dough
• Corn meal
• Olive oil
• 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (recipe below)
• 1 grilled seasoned chicken breast, chopped
• 1/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed well
  
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 2-4 tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven (as high as it will go) or grill with pizza stone.
2. In a saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions for 7-10 minutes or until soft and translucent.
3. Meanwhile, stretch dough by hand or roll it out on a lightly floured surface.
4. When pizza stone and oven are ready, remove stove from oven, or open up grill. Sprinkle pizza stone liberally with cornmeal. Place stretched dough on top of cornmeal-covered stone.
5. Spread tomatillo salsa over the dough, then distribute chopped chicken and sauteed onions evenly over the salsa. Top with shredded cheese.
6. Grill or bake for 8-10 minutes (for thin crust) until crust is golden and slightly crispy. Thicker crusts will require more time. Remove pizza from stone and allow stone to cool on the grill or in oven. Sprinkle chopped cilantro onto finished pizza, slice, and serve.

Tomatillo Salsa
Source: Domestic Pursuits

• 1 pound tomatillos, husk and stem removed
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 tbsp lime juice (juice of 1/2 lime)

1. Place husked, washed tomatillos in a saucepan. Fill the pan with enough water to cover the tomatillos and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until tomatillos are soft.
3. Transfer tomatillos to the work bowl of a food processor. Reserve cooking water in case additional water is needed to thin the salsa.
4. Add remaining ingredients onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, oregano, cumin and salt) and process until smooth. If salsa is too thick, add small amounts of cooking water until desired consistency is reached.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads has a whole wheat pizza dough that I couldn't wait to try. We love having pizza at home, mostly so we can make any weird topping concoctions that we want. I'd already found a great white dough and deep dish dough recipe, but with my new attitude towards clean eating, whole wheat dough was next on my list. If the pizza dough came out half as good as the bagels, hearth bread, and burger buns, it would still be amazing.

The dough follows a very similar 2 day pre-dough process. On day one, the biga and soaker are mixed. On day 2, those come together with the remaining dough ingredients to make the final dough. The dough rests for an hour (while you pre-heat your oven and pizza stone) and is then ready to bake! The book calls for making 5 pizzas from the recipe (at 6.25 ounces each), but I decided I wanted them slightly bigger and made 3 10-ounce pizzas. After dividing and shaping, I left one out, as directed, to rise. The other two were wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer in a freezer safe ziploc bag. I will report back and let you know how the frozen ones turn out!

The thing I loved most about this dough was how easy it is to work with. It is so soft and stretched out perfectly and effortlessly when I was shaping the pizza. No tug of war with a dough that bounces back! No tearing! It's fabulous.

The dough retains its softness while baking, and while I probably could have baked mine a tad longer to get a crisper skin on the crust, it was very soft and wonderful inside.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Source: Rewritten from Whole Grain Breads, Peter Reinhart

Day 1: Make the soaker and biga
Soaker:
1 3/4 cups (227 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon (4 grams) salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (198 grams) water

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl for about one minute, until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball of dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temp for 12 to 24 hours. (If you need more time, place in refrigerator for up to 3 days, but leave at room temp 2 hours before continuing with bread).

Biga:
1 3/4 cups (227 grams) whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (198 grams) filtered or spring water, at room temperature (about 70 degrees F)

Mix all the biga ingredients together in a bowl to form a ball of dough. With wet hands, knead dough in the bowl for 2 minutes to be sure all ingredients are evenly distributed and the flour is fully hydrated. The dough should feel very tacky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead again with wet hands for one minute. The dough will be smoother but still tacky. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Remove from the fridge two hours before making the dough.

Day 2: Make the final dough, and bake
Final Dough:
All of the Soaker
All of the biga
5/8 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
1 1/2 teaspoons (5 grams) instant yeast
7 tablespoons (56.5 grams) whole wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons (14 grams) honey or agave nectar
2 tablespoons (28.5 grams) olive oil

1. Chop the soaker and biga into 12 smaller pieces (sprinkle flour over pieces to prevent sticking).

2. By hand: Add the biga, soaker, salt, yeast, flour, honey, and olive oil to a bowl. Stir vigorously with a mixing spoon or knead with wet hands for about 2 minutes, until all ingredients are evenly integrated. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Add more flour or water as needed.

By stand mixer: Add the biga, soaker, salt, yeast, flour, honey, and olive oil to a the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed for one minute with the paddle attatchment. Switch to dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes until dough becomes cohesive and assimilated into each other. Add more flour or water as needed until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

3. Dust a work surface with flour, the roll the dough in flour to coat. Knead by hand for 3 to 4 minutes, incorporating only as much flour as needed until the dough is soft and very tacky, almost stickly. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest on the work surface for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with parchement paper or a silicone mat, then oil with 1 tablespoon of oil.

4. Resume kneading for 1 minute to strengthen the gluten and make any final water/flour adjustments. Dough should have the strength to pass the windowpane test, yet feel soft, supple and very tacky, verging on sticky. Divide the dough into five equal pieces, each weighing about 6.25 ounces. Form dough into tight balls and place on prepared pan, rolling to coat with oil, then cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap.

5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with a pizza stone for one hour, then dust the stone with cornmeal.  When oven is ready, shape dough on a lightly floured work surface.  If desired, add toppings, then slide topped pizza onto pizza stone with a peel.  Otherwise, remove hot stone from oven, place dough on top of stone, add toppings and then return to the oven. (If you do not have a baking stone, use the underside of a sheet pan, or simply place the shaped dough on a sheet pan, add the toppings, and slide the sheet pan in the oven.)

6. Once pizza is in the oven, close the door. Wait two minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated for even baking, do so. The pizza should take 5-8 minutes to bake.

7. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3-5 minutes before slicing to let the cheese set slightly.

BB: White Pizza with Arugula

I love pizza and my husband loves white pizza, so I knew this would be great for us! However, I don't love arugula. In fact, I hate it. I have tried many times to like it to no avail. So we skipped the arugula and vinaigrette, and topped it with artichokes, red pepper, and kalamata olives instead! It was a beautiful weekend, and heating up the oven just seemed wrong so we cooked it on the grill.



See how everyone else liked the pizza, over at Barefoot Bloggers.

White Pizza with Arugula
Source: Ina Garten Back to Basics on page 82
Chosen by Andrea of Nummy Kitchen

For the dough:
* 1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110) water
* 2 packages dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon honey
* Good olive oil
* 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
* Kosher salt
* 4 cloves garlic, sliced
* 5 sprigs fresh thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the topping:
* 3 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (8 ounces)
* 1 1/2 cups grated fresh mozzarella cheese (7 ounces)
* 11 ounces creamy goat cheese, such as montrachet, crumbled

(For the vinaigrette:
* 1/2 cup good olive oil
* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 8 ounces baby arugula
* 1 lemon, sliced)

We added roasted artichoke hearts, chopped red bell pepper, and chopped kalamata olives!

Directions

Mix the dough.

Combine the water, yeast, honey and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl.

Knead by hand.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic.

Let it rise.

Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Make garlic oil.

Place 1/2 cup of olive oil, the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (Be sure your oven is clean!)

Portion the dough.

Dump the dough onto a board and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Place the doughs on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Stretch the dough.

Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch circle and place 2 circles on each sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.)

Top the dough.

Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.

Make the vinaigrette.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup of olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Add the greens.

When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and a slice of lemon and serve immediately.

TIP Make sure the bowl is warm before you put the water and yeast in; the water must be warm for the yeast to develop.

TIP Salt inhibits the growth of yeast; add half the flour, then the salt, and then the rest of the flour.

TIP To make sure yeast is still "alive," or active, put it in water and allow it to sit for a few minutes. If it becomes creamy or foamy, it's active.

Margherita Pizza

With the recent success in finding a great homemade pizza dough, we thought it was time to start experimenting with toppings. The dough is stored in the freezer and basically, just waiting for us! I wasn't sure how long it would take to thaw, so I put it in the refrigerator one morning. Later that day, it was completely thawed, so I think it you left it out on the counter to thaw, it wouldn't take too long. This time around, we were craving margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella. Though the pizza dough was, at first, a bit resistant to stretching, it eventually conformed to what I wanted it to do and baked up beautifully.




Margherita Pizza

1- 12 inch pizza dough
1/3 cup pizza sauce
2 plum tomatoes, sliced thin
4 to 5 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
handful of fresh basil
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees for 30 minutes with a pizza stone on the lowest rack. Shape pizza dough into a 12 inch circle on a well floured board. If it is resistant to shaping, let it rest for 10 minutes then try again. When the stone is thoroughly preheated, remove it from the oven. Sprinkle the stone generously with cornmeal, then lay the dough on top of the cornmeal. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1/2 border all the way around the edge. Layer the sliced tomatoes to cover the sauce. Layer the mozzarella over the tomatoes, then sprinkle the pizza with torn basil leaves. Finally, top with the parmesan cheese. Reduce the oven to 425 and bake about 10 minutes.

Deep Dish Pizza

My husband happens to love the deep dish style pizza, and when I mentioned that I was making pizza last weekend, this was his request. I turned to my trusty Baking Illustrated and was pleasantly surprised to see they had a recipe for the dough. I was definitely intrigued when I saw how different it was from the regular pizza dough recipe. A potato? Really? Ok... if you say so!


The crust was worth the skepticism. It was SO good! Spongy, thick, and with a wonderful flavor, thanks to the potato. I didn't poke mine well enough and had a mountainous rising dough after the initial bake, but in the end it wasn't a big deal. I used some of Linda's Sauce that I had stashed in the freezer, and a combination of cheeses tailored to my husband's tastes.



Deep Dish Pizza
Dough source: Baking Illustrated, directions adapted slightly

~1 medium russet potato, about 9 ounces, peeled and quartered
~3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (17 1/2 ounces)
~1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
~1 3/4 tsp salt
~1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
~4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the bowl
~1/2 cup sauce
~1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
~1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
~1/3 cup grated/crumbled mexican cheese

1. Bring 1 quart water and the potato to a boil. Cook until tender. Drain and cool until it can comfortably be handled. Press through the fine disk on a potato ricer, or grate through the large holes on a box grater. Or, if it crumbles in your hand when you try to do this, as it did for me, take out a fork, smash it to bits, and call it a day. Measure 1 1/3 cups lightly packed potato and discard the rest. Reheat remaining potato for a few seconds in the microwave, and enjoy with a little butter.

2. Adjust one oven rack to the highest position and the other to the lowest. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Once it reaches 200, maintain the heat for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat.

3. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor or stand mixer. With the motor running (low for the mixer), add water and process until until dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Add the potato and process for several seconds, then add 2 T. of the oil and process several more seconds, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky. Transfer to a lightly oiled medium bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the warmed oven until the dough is soft and spongy and about doubled in size, about 30-35 minutes.

4. Oil the bottom of a 10-inch deep-dish pizza pan with remaining 2 Tbsp of oil. Yes, it seems like a lot of oil, but the oil is what browns the crust while it's baking in the oven. Remove the dough and gently punch down on a clean, dry work surface. Divide in two, and pat one of the halves into a 9-inch round and transfer to the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest about 10 minutes, until it no longer resists shaping. Repeat with the other half, or wrap it well with plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer bag.

5. Place a pizza stone or rimless baking sheet in the oven on the lowest rack (do not use an insulated cookie sheet) and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Uncover the dough and pull it into the edges and up the sides of the pan to form a 1-inch lip. Cover again, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 30 minutes, until about doubled. Uncover and pierce generously with a fork. (Yes, do this. Then do it some more.)

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees and place the pan on the heated stone or baking sheet until the crust is dry and lightly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

7. Add sauce and cheese to baked crust and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Move the pizza to the top rack and bake until the cheese is golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes longer. Mine was already browned and good to go after 13 minutes on the bottom rack. Using a spatula, carefully lift the crust out of the pan to check the crust for done-ness. You are looking for a few brown spots on the bottom. Let it sit about 5 minutes before cutting, unless you enjoy the pizza sauce massacre on your cutting board.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

For a few months, I've been wanting to try the pizza dough recipe from Baking Illustrated that I've heard people rave about. This weekend was finally the right time, and I am so glad I finally got to make it. My pizza stretching skills leave something to be desired, so the bottom of the crust was extra thin and the outside edge ended up quite large (good, I suppose, if you love the crust like I do!). I also had some leftover pesto in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I searched and quickly found this recipe for Chicken Pesto Pizza on Allrecipes. We aren't ones to shy away from cheese, however, so I supplemented the fontina cheese with some mozzarella. We loved it! I found the addition of artichokes to be pure genius. :-)


I only used one third of the dough recipe, the other two thirds were wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag in the freezer for another time.


Chicken Pesto Pizza
Adapted slightly from Allrecipes.com

~1/2 cup pesto basil sauce
~1 (12 inch) pizza crust (recipe follows)
~1 roasted chicken breast, chopped
~7 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
~1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
~1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven and a baking stone to 500 degrees F for 30 minutes.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.When stone is ready, remove from the oven. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. Lay stretched pizza crust over cornmeal. Spread pesto sauce over the pizza crust. Arrange chicken pieces and artichoke hearts over the sauce, and sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and lightly browned at the edges.


Pizza Dough
Source: Baking Illustrated, pages 153-155; instructions slightly adapted

Makes enough for 3 medium pizzas.

We find the food processor is the best tool for making pizza dough. However, only a food processor with a capacity of at least 11 cups can handle this much dough. You can also knead this dough by hand or in a standing mixer (see the variations that follow). Unbleached all-purpose flour can be used in a pinch, but the resulting crust will be less crisp. If you want to make pizza dough in the morning and let it rise on the counter all day, decrease the yeast to 1/2 teaspoon and let the covered dough rise at cool room temperature (about 68 degrees) until doubled in size, about 8 hours. You can prolong the rising time even further by refrigerating the covered dough for up to 16 hours and then letting it rise on the counter until doubled in size, which will take 6 to 8 hours.

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

2. Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue pulsing while pouring the liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. If the dough does not readily form into a ball, add the remaining liquid and continue to pulse until a ball forms. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

3. The dough will be a bit tacky, so use a rubber spatula to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into three pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the others covered, shape the dough into a 12 inch circle. Repeat with remaining dough, or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer bag.

Pizza Dough Kneaded by Hand
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead combine the salt and half the flour in a deep bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour, stirring until a cohesive mass forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic 7 to 8 minutes, using as little dusting flour as possible while kneading. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Pizza Dough Kneaded in a Standing Mixer
Follow the recipe for Pizza Dough through step 1. Omit step 2 and instead place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proceed with the recipe.

Beautiful Bones: Island Shrimp and Tofu Pizza

I was quite inspired by the latest round of Platinum Chef Challenge (#7) and had a few recipes in mind to try out. The first recipe (Crab cakes) turned out great, but I still wanted to try my back up recipe (shrimp pizza) because I'd really taken the time to plan it out and it sounded so good in my head. I was chatting about my dinner plans with the ladies from What's Cookin, and Elly asked if my pizza was for the Beautiful Bones blogging event. I had never even heard of it, but as I looked into it, I realized this recipe is perfect!

I made a 9 inch pizza (roughly) and got about six slices. Each slice packs 23% of the RDA for calcium and is broken down as follows:
~1/2 mango ............................... 10 mg
~8 large shrimp ......................... 30 mg
~ground flaxseed (1/4 cup) ..... 40mg
~yogurt (2 tbsp) ....................... 50 mg
~1 small bok choy ..................... 70 mg
~3 oz tofu ..................................150 mg
~3 oz goat cheese..................... 450 mg
~3/4 cup mozzarella cheese .. 600 mg
TOTAL ................................... 1400 mg / 6 slices = 230 mg per slice

Island Shrimp and Tofu Pizza
~ 9 inch pizza dough of your choice (I used a whole wheat that included some ground flaxseed in place of some flour to get a little more calcium) :-)
~extra virgin olive oil for spraying

For the mango sauce:
~1/2 of a mango, seed and skin discarded
~juice from 1/2 of a lime (I had exceptionally large limes, so if yours are small, feel free to use the whole lime)
~2 tbsp plain yogurt
~few dashes of hot sauce, such as Frank's

For the toppings:
~3-4 oz extra firm tofu
~1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
~juice from 1/2 of a large lime
~ 1 clove of garlic, minced, grated or pressed
~1/3 cup soy sauce
~about 8 raw shrimp, peeled and cleaned
~roughly 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), enough to coat shrimp
~1 baby bok choy, leaves separated and rinsed
~3 oz goat cheese, sliced
~3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Combine tofu, ginger, lime juice, garlic and soy sauce in a small bowl. Refrigerate to marinate for 30 min to 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine ingredients for mango sauce in a blender and puree. Divide sauce, about 1/3 in a small bowl for coating shrimp, the remainder reserved for topping on the dough
2. Spray pizza dough with extra-virgin olive oil and place on the grill. As the dough cooks, it will firm up. Flip when it is firm enough. Meanwhile, place the panko in a shallow bowl or plate. Dip shrimp in mango sauce, then coat with panko. Grill shrimp, 2 to 3 min on each side.
3. When dough is ready and shrimp are done, remove dough for addition of toppings (or, if you are more talented than I, do so right on the grill!) Add the reserved mango sauce, about 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, then top with the tofu, bok choy, shrimp, goat cheese, then finish with remaining mozzarella cheese. Heat unil dough is finished and mozzarella cheese is melted. Slice and enjoy!