Days like today were just made for my guys. They love their pizza. If they had things there way we’d eat pizza, burgers, tacos – then repeat. If you’ve been around a while, you know I’m not a big pizza eater.
Oh don’t get me wrong. I like a thin crust pizza with a garlic white sauce, some shredded chicken, artichokes and red onions. I like an Alfredo sauce with buffalo chicken. In other words, I’m not a “regular’ pizza eater.
This pizza was my first attempt at a yeast-risen crust. In all honesty, it was a little soggy, but amazingly delicious. Hubby gobbled down nearly half the pizza himself. Kiddo usually criticizes my home-made pizza skills, but this time he really liked it. And yeah, I had two slices myself. For me, that’s saying a lot. I think what hurt the crust was the Pepperoni. There was some grease from the slices. Next time around I’m going to try par-baking the crust, go a little lighter on the sauce and skip the Pepperoni altogether.
Flatbread Sausage Pizza
Flatbread Pizza Crust
1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
1 teaspoon Sugar
3/4 cup Warm Water
2 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, optional
Place yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Heat water to between 100 and 110 degrees. Whisk the warmed water, yeast and sugar together. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top.
Measure flour with the spoon/leveling method. Add the flour, olive oil, salt and seasoning (if using). Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until combined, about 2 minutes. The dough should be thick, yet soft and slightly sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead. If, however, the dough is too sticky to handle, mix in more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Make sure you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly tacky dough.
Keep the dough in the mixer with the dough hook paddle, and beat for an additional 6 to 8 minutes.
Note: If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough.
After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger— if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. Place the dough in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.
As the dough is resting and rising, prepare your toppings. Whatever you like best will do. Since today is National Sausage Pizza Day, I’m making mine with Italian Sausage.
Sausage-Mushroom-Pepperoni Pizza Toppings
6 White Mushrooms
1 lb Italian Sausage, hot or mild
1 jar Pizza Sauce
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
Pepperoni, optional
Clean and slice mushrooms. Set aside until ready to assemble and bake the pizza.
In a skillet over medium heat, brown sausage, breaking into smaller pieces as it cooks. Drain well, set aside until ready to use.
Assemble and Bake
Olive Oil as needed
Heat oven to 475-degrees. While the oven warms, punch the dough down to release any air. It’s time to decide if you want to make two smaller pizzas or one giant one.
For Two Pizzas: Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface with floured hands and working with one dough piece at a time, begin shaping and stretching the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. You can use a floured rolling pin if you like. Don’t worry about the shape of the dough, just make sure it’s thin. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Carefully transfer both pieces of dough to a parchment paper or silicone-mat lined baking sheet, or use a pizza stone.
For One Large Pizza: Shape or roll out the dough directly on a silicone baking mat or a large sheet of parchment and then just transfer the whole thing to the baking sheet.
Poke at the surface of the flatbread with your fingertips or prick a few holes with a fork. Drizzle or brush the bread with about a teaspoon of olive oil.
Spoon or pour pizza sauce over the crust, then brush to spread out. Add more sauce as desired. Top with half of the cheese, sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni (if using) and remaining cheese.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust and toppings are browned to your liking. Remove from the oven. Slice and serve warm.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
so that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call
