And of course, there is no picture because we ate it before I remembered I wanted to blog about it. Don't worry, we'll have it again next week and I'll post it then.
I realized quite some time ago that I've never posted my pizza dough recipe. I've been using it for awhile and think I've got it pretty well perfected. Sometimes we like to change things up though. For instance, using a little bit of white flour makes it fluffier. If we want crunchy crust we use all whole wheat. Anyway, enough about that. Let's talk about the recipe. (I'll post the crust recipe, too).
The Recipe: Pesto Pizza
What you Need:
Toppings:
4 medium mushrooms (chopped)
1/2 a small onion (chopped)
10-15 black olives (chopped)
sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh spinach (optional)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup pesto
Crust:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups warm water (not HOT!)
2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar, honey or agave nectar (we use agave)
Crust directions:
Place yeast and 1 cup of warm water in your KitchenAid mixer bowl (or you can use a regular bowl and do the kneading by hand). Add your tbsp of sugar, honey or agave...it doesn't really matter what you use, the yeast just needs something sweet to eat (and no, a piece of candy won't work). Let it sit for 10 minutes until the mixture looks beige and bubbly. Add 1 cup of flour and turn your mixer onto setting 2. Gradually add another cup of flour until it starts to form a dough. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 cup warm water. Add the rest of the flour a 1/2 cup at a time until the dough forms a ball (or lump). This takes 2-4 minutes. Make sure you put the lock down on the mixer, otherwise it'll be dancing all over the place. Take out the dough and form it into a ball.
Place it back in the bowl and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Cover the dough with a clean towel and let it rest in a warm area where it won't be disturbed for 1 hour. After an hour, punch down the dough and get to rolling!
Sprinkle a bit of flour on the counter, flour up your rolling pin and roll the dough into a rectangle or circle. We use a cookie sheet with a rectangle pizza, but a circular pizza works, too. Transfer the dough to the sheet.
Add pesto using a spoon and spreading it out over the dough. Add chopped onions, black olives, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and spinach (if using...we go back and forth. sometimes we use it, sometimes we don't). Sprinkle with cheeses and pop it in the oven.
Bake at 350˚ for 18 minutes. Cut with pizza cutter and devour! Yum.
Did you make this? Let me know!
