Pizza!

This is my very first Daring Bakers Challenge hosted by Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums it’s pizza, I am so glad that I had pizza making experience before, here and here.  So I decided to make two kinds of pizza. A traditional pizza with prosciutto, muenster cheese and pizza sauce.  And a Halloween inspired dessert pizza with Pumpkin Cream cheese, sound delish right????  I mean cream cheese, pizza dough and Pumpkin????  How could you go wrong.

Lets start off with the pizza dough.  It was light and crispy with the perfect amount of crunch and chewiness.  The flavor was perfect.

Ingredients:4 1/2 cup flour, 1 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp yeast, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 3/4 cups water, 1 T sugar.

Trivia Question-Sugar bowl Pattern-anyone know the name???

Add flour, salt and yeast

Then add oil, sugar, and cold water and mix well on low with paddle attachment

Once incorporated and sticky remove paddle and put the dough hook attachment and set on medium speed for 5-7 minutes

While mixing set up your work space, you will need a floured surface, olive oil, extra flour, dough scraper, plastic wrap and a pan

When the dough forms a pretty ball remove from the mixer and place on the floured surface

with your dough scaper cut six equal pieces, flour, roll them each into a ball and place them on the lightly oiled pan

Oil each ball and cover with plastic wrap and let sit in refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days

Or freeze by dipping each ball in oil

then covering them in plastic wrap and putting in a freezer bag for up to 3 months

Now take the pizza dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour your work surface, and press the balls into 5 inch disks cover, and let sit for 2 hours

Then take the disks and toss away!  Ok I must admit I did not do a great job at the tossing, but for the challenge we had to try, so I ended up rolling them out the old boring way

Place pizza dough on pizza stone or pan.  Do not create a perfectly round pizza, its a must.

Or if you do don’t tell me because I would be embarrassed by my crooked pizza dough, ha!

Add pizza sauce, muenster cheese, and prosciutto.  I highly recommend muenster cheese for pizza, it melts so beautifully and has a fuller flavor than mozzarella

Bake @ 500 for 5-8 minutes

Isn’t it beautiful even with the funky edges? Hey it has personality!

Dt could not get enough of this pizza and said it was the best he has ever had in his life,  I agreed the combination of the dough, muenster cheese and prosciutto was excellent.

Pizza No. 2 Dessert Pizza

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pizza

I was in a pumpkin kind of mood and decided for the challenge to create a pumpkin pie.  And since I have a deep love for cream cheese I decided to make a pumpkin cream cheese pizza pie. Perfect right?  My thought process on this was a bit scattered brained, but I think it turned out great.  My Mom, Dad, and DT all thoroughly enjoyed this pizza.  Dad said it was a keeper, so did Cricket, see below.

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 block cream cheese, 1 egg, 4 T butter, 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp vanilla, half 1/4 tsp nutmeg, half 1/4 tsp allspice, 1 apple, handful pecans (not pictured)

Trivia Question-Sugar bowl Pattern- anyone know the name???

Start off with the pumpkin, cut in half, scoop out seeds and save (recipe to come), cook in microwave for 5-7 minutes each or soft

Once cooked, scoop out flesh and puree in blender or food processor, sorry no pics, I forgot.

Add 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 egg, and block of cheese

add 4 T butter, and 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar, mix well

Add salt, cloves, nutmeg

ginger, all spice, cinnamon, mix well

Roll out dough as previous posted, and add brush on melted butter

Put dough on preheated pizza stone, lumpy and crooked as possible, be careful its hott! Add pumpkin mixture, be generous

Slice apples thin and place them on pizza, add pecans

Isn’t she pretty?

Bake @ 500 for 5-7 minutes, checking often

I think I let it cook 1 minute too long the pecans were a little brown.

Enjoy!

Print This Recipe

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pizza

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 block cream cheese

1 egg

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp vanilla

half 1/4 tsp nutmeg

half 1/4 tsp allspice

1 apple (sliced)

handful pecans

Use dough recipe below, mix all the top ingredient together and top pizza dough, Bake @ 500 5-7 minutes

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour,
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar – FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.
The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter.  Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them.  Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter – for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

This post is listed @ Overwhelmed with Joy! Favorite Ingredient Friday