Pizza, Pizza

As I've mentioned before, the child inside of me loves pizza. The ability to eat pizza, along with desserts, is a big part of why I run on a regular basis. As I've also mentioned, I am always on a quest to make pizza healthier so that I can eat it more often :) I've successfully achieved that goal once again.


Thursday night, I tried my hand at making pizza dough from scratch. I haven't made any yeast-based recipes in over 10 years. This is due to multiple bad experiences in my late teen years which not only led to my long held belief that yeast is the devil, but also that I should not be in the kitchen. After the last month, my cooking confidence has risen tremendously and I decided it was time to take the plunge. I made a whole wheat and rosemary crust (inspired by a delightful pizza I had at Alicia and Daniel's during our Christmas cookie baking marathon) and topped it with sun dried tomato pesto (completely made this up on the fly and was quite pleased with my ability to improvise), mushrooms, and cheese. After baking, I finished it off with some arugula. Paired with a glass of red wine and my stomach was in heaven!

Whole Wheat Rosemary Dough

Adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, (105-115°F)
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour, or all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• Rosemary (fresh or dry) to taste

Preparation

1. Stir water, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl; let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in whole-wheat flour, bread flour (or all-purpose flour), cornmeal, and rosemary until the dough begins to come together. 
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, mix the dough in a food processor. Process until it forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.)
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. (To make individual pizzas, see Variation.) Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Individual variation: The dough can be turned into 4 or 6 personal-size pizzas. After kneading, divide the dough into 4 or 6 equal balls. Brush with oil and place 3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Cover and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Roll each portion into a 6-to-8-inch circle. *You can also cover and refrigerate overnight...I did this and it worked just fine.
4. Bake at 450F for 8-10 minutes

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pizza with Mushrooms and Arugula

Ingredients 

[the amount needed really depends on how big of a pizza you're making]

• 8oz jar sun dried tomatoes
• sliced mushrooms and arugula for topping
• 3 cloves garlic
• cheese (I used a blended white cheese I found at Trader Joes--qualtro formaggio)

Preparation

1. Create pesto with sun dried tomatoes and garlic cloves (I used one of my new favorite appliances, my stick blender, and blended it until it was a pesto consistency). 
2. Saute mushrooms in olive oil, salt, and pepper (to taste) for 3-5 minutes. I didn't cook them all the way through since I knew they'd cook a little more in the oven.
3. Spread pesto on pizza crust, top with mushrooms and cheese. Bake for 8-10 minute or until cheese is melted.
4. Allow to cool, top with arugula and enjoy!