Friday, August 05, 2016

Bruschetta Pizza

When you buy 22 pounds of tomatoes at the farmers' market and your basil bush stands as tall as your waist, there's only one thing to do:

OK, there are a lot of things to do :) ...but bruschetta pizza should be at the top of the list! It's long past time for me to share one of our very favorite summer recipes.

The crust can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Refrigerated pre-made crust, if you're into that. Your own favorite homemade recipe. We love this one--because it's healthier (made with whole wheat flour), it's heartier (you need a substantial crust if you're going to pile on this many juicy tomatoes), and it's full of flavor. It's also quicker than many homemade pizza crusts, due to a unique but effective method of force-rising the dough in the microwave on 10% power.

You then top the crust with sausage (which is also much easier to make than you think) and mozzarella. No sauce--you're going to dump fresh tomatoes alllllll over it instead.

So let's get started...

Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

3 cups whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg instant yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup + 2 T warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil

Measure flour, sugar, salt, yeast, cheese, garlic, and oregano into the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor and mix well. With dough hook (or processor blade), while the mixer is running, slowly add warm water and oil; mix until dough forms a ball. Mix for an additional minute. If dough is too sticky to roll into a ball, add a little more flour.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Add a little olive oil and shape dough into a ball, then poke a hole through the center (so that it resembles a fat donut). Place dough in microwave-safe bowl and cover with a plate.

Preheat oven (with baking stone inside) to 400 degrees. Fill a small glass measuring cup with water and place in back of microwave. Place dough bowl in center of microwave and heat on LOW (10% power) for 3 minutes. Let stand, covered, in microwave for 3 minutes. Repeat this procedure two more times, allowing 6 minutes for the last standing time.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Divide into half (for a thicker crust) or thirds (for a thinner, almost crispy crust). Working with one portion at a time, use roller or hands to shape into pizza crust.

Transfer crust on preheated baking stone and bake for 10 minutes, or until crust just starts to brown. Remove from oven; add sauce + toppings and return to oven, baking until cheese melts and crust is browned on bottom (10 minutes).

Bruschetta Pizza toppings
1/2 lb sausage (more or less), browned and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella (more or less)
tomatoes--maybe 4-6?
fresh basil
minced garlic
balsamic vinegar

When you take the parbaked crust out of the oven, top with sausage and mozzarella and bake until cheese is melted (we like to broil for a couple of minutes at the end so the cheese gets nice and brown).

The bruschetta mixture is a loose recipe, mostly to taste; it depends on how generous you want to be with your topping and how much you like fresh basil. The photo with the original recipe was laughable, with a tiny sprinkling of tomatoes almost as a garnish. Me, I like it when I can barely see the pizza underneath the giant pile of tomatoes--probably one smallish tomato per slice of pizza! The great thing is, if you end up with too much, you can use the leftovers for traditional bruschetta (toasted slices of bread) or stick it in the freezer and use it in soup this winter.

Basically, you dice up several tomatoes and chop up as much fresh basil as you prefer. Add in minced garlic (maybe two cloves for a whole pizza), a splash of vinegar, and a little salt. Mix well and spoon over individual slices of pizza at the table. This is one pizza you'll definitely want to eat with a fork.

1 comment:

Danielle said...

I booked marked this to try! :)