Tag Archives: pizza

Molasses Pizza Crust

Oh dear glory ! This is it! You must try this pizza crust! It is the perfect combination of sweet, crunchy and chewy texture. 

Have you ever been to Mellow Mushroom? My husband and I fell in love with this pizza restaurant in Franklin, Tennessee. We seek these out when we travel. We love the atmosphere and how you can build your own pizza.

We took that concept to the next level and recently had a party with a build your own pizza bar theme. 


This recipe yields 4 personal pizzas

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons molasses 

1 1/2 tablespoon yeast 

1 1/2 cup warm water (like bath water)

3 1/4 cup Bread Flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Cornmeal for dusting and rolling (freshly ground)

Directions:

1. Place the first three ingredients in a small bowl and allow the yeast to proof. 

2. In the meantime, place the flours, salt,and oil in a stand mixer and mix the ingredients on low. 

3. Pour the yeast, molasses and water mixture into the mixing bowl with the mixer on low, then turn it to medium low and mix for 5 minutes

4. Cover the bowl and let rise at room temperature for one hour. Punch down the dough and allow it to rise again for about an hour then place it in the fridge overnight to allow it to ferment.

5. Preheat the oven to 500 and place the pizza stone in the oven. Allow the stone to get hot for about an hour at 500 degrees. At this time bring the dough out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. 

6. Dust the surface with a good amount of cornmeal.  Remove the dough and cut into 2 or 4 pieces of equal size depending on how many pizzas you want to make.  This will make 2 medium pizzas or 4 nice size personal pizzas

7. Roll dough into a circle about 12″ around with a rolling pin and continue dusting with cornmeal as it gets sticky.  Poke a lot of holes in the dough with a fork or similar utensil so it does not bubble too much in the oven.

8. Place the dough on a pizza piel and place the dough on the stone in the oven for 4 minutes to par bake the dough

9.  Remove the dough to cool on a rack and get ready to place your toppings on your crust

10. Put your favorite pizza ingredients on your crust and return the pizza to the oven for 4-5 minutes

11.  Cut your pizza into as many pieces as you would like and enjoy!

Hot Pepper and Egg Pizza

Egg Pizza

 

There was a restaurant my family used to go to back home and they had one of the best pizza’s in Youngstown. We would travel 30 minutes and wait 2-3 hours for a few pies (no joke) out of their brickoven. When we moved pizza was so expensive in the Burgh and mediocre. My husband and I practiced, and practiced making pizza dough and different variations of our hometown favorite pizzas (no offense Pittsburgh your pizza’s does not hold a candle to Northeast Ohio Pies). The first time I saw “egg pizza” on the menu I thought “yuck” but my mom ordered it and needless to say we loved it. Now this is something I make often for dinner or brunch.

 

Egg Pizza

 

Ingredients:

Prepared dough (store bought your favorite) This is our favorite: Best Pizza Dough Every time

Gouda Cheese 1 Cup or if you don’t have gouda cheese use mozzarella

Parm Regino cheese 2 tb

3 egg yolks and one egg ( beat w/ a fork)

a splash of fat free half & half (2 tb)

natures seasoning & sandwich sprinkle (or pizza seasoning)

banana hot rings  ¼ cup

red hot pepper flakes (optional but recommended)

cornmeal for dusting

 

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 550 for an hour w/ pizza stone in the oven.

2) Roll pizza dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a circular shape with edges (which is extremely important later on to prevent the egg mixture from spilling out into the oven when baking. Place on a pizza piel that has been sprinkled with a small amount of cornmeal (to prevent the dough from sticking to the piel).

3) Decrease the oven temperature to 425 before placing the pizza in the oven.

4) Sprinkle the seasoning salt or sandwich sprinkle onto the dough evenly. Place the pizza on the pizza stone in the oven for 5 minutes on the stone.

5) Take out of oven, spray with cooking spray. Place the hot pepper rings evenly on the pizza and also the hot pepper flakes if you are interested in adding more heat.

6) Take eggs, and egg yolks along with the half and half and beat with fork to incorporate. One trick my husband and I learned is to place the cheese on get the pizza before placing the pie in the oven without the eggs. The best thing to do with the eggs is place the egg mixture in a pourable container kind of like a measuring vessel with pouring capability.

7) Once the pizza is in the oven pull out the oven rack with oven mitts and pour the liquid egg mixture evenly onto the pizza. This method prevents the eggs from running off the pizza when you are trying to place the pizza in the oven (lesson learned the hard way).

8) Place the pizza back in the oven for 12 minutes.

9) Remove from oven and sprinkle the freshly grated parm cheese.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Pierogi Pizza

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My husband and I love pierogi. The other night I wanted to make pierogies and I didn’t have any in the freezer. I made a pot roast instead with some garlic mashed potatoes. We had mashed potatoes left over so I made some pizza crust (TOH whole wheat) and thought well I can make a pierogi pizza. Now it is a favorite!

 

Ingredient:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/thin-crust-pizza-dough

~1-1/2 cups of cheddar cheese

~1 cup left over seasoned mashed potatoes (I used roasted garlic)
~1/4 tsp garlic salt
~1/2 chopped onions sautéed in 1 tsp butter
1 TB cornmeal

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Preheat oven with pizza stone at 500 for one hour.
In the meantime get your crust recipe going or thawing if you are using a store bought dough frozen or fresh)

Roll out dough and sprinkle cornmeal on either a pizza peal or back of a sheet pan and set dough on top of the spread out cornmeal this makes it easier to slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone. Sprinkle garlic salt over the dough and make fork marks in the dough to prevent the dough from bubbling up in the oven. Now place the dough in the oven.

Let the dough bake for 5 minutes and then remove from the oven.

While the dough is pre baking sauté up the onions. Get a pan hot (medium heat) and melt the butter and the onions. Cook until the onions are transparent about 5-8 minutes.

Spread out the mashed potatoes on top of the dough. Sprinkle the sautéed onions. One top of the onions sprinkle the amount of cheese you would like on top and bake pizza for 10-15 minutes.

 

Be careful the mashed potatoes are a good insulator and make this pizza hot.

Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Pizza

Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Pizza

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I am always looking for a new pizza dough recipe. I tweaked this one from Anne Burrell’s recipe in the June FN Magazine.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/grilled-pizzettas-with-parmigiano-prosciutto-and-arugula-and-with-taleggio-and-puttanesca-recipe/index.html.

Dough:

1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Place yeast, sugar or honey and warm water in small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes or until foams.

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2. In stand mixer place flours, salt, and form a well with the flour.

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Pour oil in center

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Attach dough hook and mix on low speed at first and slowly add the yeast mixture.

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Knead mixture with dough hook until ball forms.

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Place dough in a oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

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Let rise for and hour in a warm place.

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Divide into 4 portions

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Place in ziplock bags and let rise another hour.

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Now is a good time to preheat oven with pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees.

After the oven has preheated for an hour. And dough has risen for second time throw extra dough in freezer for another day.

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Roll dough out on lightly floured surface.

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Place on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent sticking and toss onto baking stone. Bake for 2 minutes.

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Pizza Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup of pizza sauce
1-2 teaspoons of pasta sprinkle or Italian seasoning
4-5 slices (1/8 inch) Fresh Mozzarella (blotted to remove excess moisture)
6 leaves of fresh basil
Fig balsamic (optional)

Directions:

Sprinkle pasta sprinkle evenly on pizza crust.

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Add the sauce spread evenly with spatula.

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Add Mozzarella Cheese on top evenly.

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Throw back in oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

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Throw on basil and drizzle fig balsamic.

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Enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Pizza

Loaded Baked Potato Pizza

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My husband and I love to make pizza… We had some left over baked potatoes from yesterday’s dinner. I google left over baked potato recipes and the first recipes I found were soup and potato salad recipes. It was almost 90 degrees here so I decided against the soup and thought potato salad would not suffice for dinner. Ironically,I just made a new pizza dough recipe and had some of the dough thawed in the refrigerator ( I always have some fresh dough thawed in the refrigerator “just in case”. So I thought I would give a loaded baked potato pizza pie a try. Turns out this recipe does taste just like a baked potato !

 

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon (cooked and chopped)

One Pizza Dough Recipe (below) or your favorite dough

1 to 2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese

Half of a large left over Baked Potato (skin removed and mashed with a fork)

1 TB of Melted Butter

Salt and Pepper to season

1/2 to 1 tsp of Buttermilk Ranch Seasoning (my favorite is Penzey’s but you can use Hidden-valley powdered ranch too)

1 TB dried chives (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven with pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees for at least an hour.

 

2. Roll out dough into a 12 inch circle

3. Cube up left over baked potato & butter and heat in microwave for up to a minute mash with fork (you may want to season with salt and pepper to taste) .

4. After the oven has been on for an hour place pizza on a pizza piel that has been heavily coated with cornmeal toss the dough onto the stone that has been heating in oven. Let bake for 2 minutes.

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5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

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6. Spread evenly the mashed potato onto the pizza dough sprinkle with Buttermilk Ranch Powder seasoning.

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Add chopped bacon, cheese, and whatever use you usually place on your baked potato.

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7. Toss back into the oven for 5-9 minutes until your cheese has melted just the way you like it.

 

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8. Remove from oven and sprinkle chives as you wish.

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ENJOY :)

Dough Ingredients:

This recipe will make 4, 12 inch pizzas so freeze some dough for another day!

1 cup of warm water (Temperature 105 to 115 degrees)

1 TB of sugar or honey

2 1/4 cup of AP Flour

1 Cup of Cake Flour

1 TB of Kosher Salt or Flaky Salt

2 TB of Olive Oils

 

Direction:

1. Combine water, sugar, and yeast, allow some time to proof (appearance will be foamy) about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Sift flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with hook attachment in place.

3. Add oil to proofed yeast mixture, pour into flour mixture. Knead using the dough hook for 10 minutes.

4. Place dough formed in a ball into a Pam sprayed bowl on a warm area and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Once the dough doubles punch down and divide into 4 equal parts. This is where I spray 4 quart sized ziplock bags with pam and place the dough in the bags and allow to rise for another hour. Once the dough has risen place dough you are not using today into the freeze for next pizza party.