Sunday, November 05, 2006

our hero's favorite pizza

so i've mentioned that i make pizza on a regular basis. it's easy, fun to come up with new topping combinations, and always pleases our hero (spouse of wellunderstood). Cooking Light strikes again! i made this pizza for "movie night" last weekend, and our hero raved.

i used my own crust recipe, adapted from Terry Blonder Golson's 1,000 Low-Fat Recipes.

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees)
1 t. honey
3 t. olive oil
1 t. kosher salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2-3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Combine yeast, water, and honey. Let sit until foamy (i love watching this part). Stir in the oil, salt, and whole wheat flour. Add the pastry flour a little at a time until a dough ball forms. Knead on a floured surface, adding flour little by little if necessary, until smooth and springy. (i test this by pinching the dough and seeing how much it springs back. it will be less springy than if you used white flour.) Put in a lightly oiled bowl (flip to coat the dough), and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place as long as you want, but at least 30 minutes. (in my drafty kitchen, i pre-heat the oven and let the dough rise on top of the stove.)

now's the time when i would slide my pizza stone in the oven to pre-heat. if you don't have a pizza stone, don't fret! a pre-heated baking sheet will work just fine!

Cooking Light's Wild Mushroom Pizza
1 t. butter
1 t. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. wild mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. black pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (they recommend Monterey Jack, i used Cabot's 50% Light Pepper Jack)
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into short strips
Coarse cornmeal

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high. Add 1 t. olive oil. Add mushrooms; saute 10 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; stir.

Take dough from oiled bowl; stretch or roll it to fit your pan. Remove preheated pan from oven; sprinkle well with coarse cornmeal. Put dough on baking pan (or stone), slide into lower oven rack. Bake 8 minutes. Remove.

Spread mushroom mixture evenly over crust. Top with cheese. Sprinkle prosciutto over pizza. Bake on middle rack an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese melts.

1 comment:

eatme_delicious said...

mmm i must try this pizza dough! (as you can see i clicked on the links from your calzone post to see all the other dough posts!)