Friday, May 27, 2011

White Pizza


I used to live in Florida back when I was 19.  There was this amazing pizza joint down the road from our apartment, and for the life of me - I can't remember the name of it.  Anybody in Cocoa Beach?  It started with an A.  That's all I can remember.  But anyway, it was there that I experienced my first white pizza.  Different from the traditional tomato-based pie, a white pizza has a garlicky olive oil base and usually just simply topped with some ricotta (truly my favorite part) and mozzarella.  It's simple and heavenly. 


And so being a little nostalgic, and in the mood for pizza, I prepped myself a pizza dough this morning in hopes of having this beautiful pie for lunch.  It met every expectation. And while I didn't include any ricotta this time (I didn't have any in the fridge), I've got dough to spare, so I'll definitely be picking up some ricotta to make the "original" very soon!


So while the rest of America is ordering out, why don't you take a little bit extra time and make your own?  Seriously, only an hour and 45 minutes isn't half bad for a homemade pie.



Ingredients:
Adapted from a Food Network recipe

Dough:


1 & 1/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt


Topping:

4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup olive oil
zucchini shavings (or any other topping you'd like)



To make the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil in a medium bowl.  When yeast is dissolved, add in all purpose flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour.  Add in salt.  Mix until dough comes together and slowly add in remaining cup of wheat flour until a soft dough forms.  Knead dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.


Grease a medium bowl and add dough.  Cover with a warm kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes.  Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, making sure that garlic does not burn.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Divide dough into 6 pieces and place dough on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet.  Cover with a warm towel and let rise for 10 minutes.  You can now either use all 6 pieces of dough immediately, or do what I did and make one pizza and freeze the rest of the dough.  I just placed the remaining dough in a freezer bag with a little bit of olive oil and it can keep in the freezer for up to a month.  (Some sites say more, but seriously, pizza dough never last too long in our house!)  When you're ready to use it again, just thaw out in the fridge for about 1 hour, or until you're able to knead it a little bit.

Stretch the dough ball into an 8 inch circle and place on cornmeal dusted baking sheet.  (I only made 1 pizza, but you could easily do two per baking sheet).

Brush each pizza with the garlic oil and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle pizzas with cheeses and drizzle a little bit more garlic oil over top.  Then top with zucchini shavings (just take a peeler and literally "shave" some zucchini)  Bake pizzas for about 10 to 15 minutes or until crusts are browned and crisp.


This was a perfect Friday (or any day) lunch!  And would be perfect for one of those stay-in Friday pizza nights!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

38 comments:

  1. Looks so good. I love how thin you made the crust. That's how I like mine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. And in less than 90 minutes, I can be at your front door! I love white pizzas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love white pizzas! This looks delicious! :P

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love all kinds of pizza, but I can't say I've made a white pizza- yet! I've made ricotta and bbq but not all white! Thanks for the inspiration, girl! shall try this next week :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love white pizza, it is really one of my favorites for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nothing beats the taste of home made pizza peggy..love this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Homemade pizza are always perfect as we can play with flavors and toppings.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dang, that pizza looks so yummy gooooood! I love that crust!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love homemade pizzas. This looks incredible!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can I come by your place to eat it, loved that white pizza!
    US Masala

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pizza looks so very flsvorful... Can u pass me a piece???

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yummy!

    I'll have to try this in our new outdoor pizza oven :-)

    /Birthe

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ricotta is one of my favorite pizza toppings - and white pizza made with ricotta is excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very different from our regular pizza, looks superb!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks really irresistible, would love to have a bite of it :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sorry, can't go there with the whole wheat pizza dough.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love white pizza! your recipe looks so good.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Pizza has to be one of my favortie foods, and I love seeing other people's favorite varitations. I love the idea of zuchinni shavings!! Never thought of that!! This looks super delicious, pour me a glass of Chardonnay!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I used to hate tomato sauce as a kid so white pizza was always my pizza of choice! This looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks amazing - love homemade white pizza

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow, delightful, yummy!
    I love white pizza!! Yeah!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for the recipe---can't beat a good white pizza!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm so impressed that you made your own dough. I adore pizza and have never made a white pizza. This looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Peggy, your pizza looks incredible! A bit rustic and topped with such wonderful ingredients! I need to break out the yeast again and try your recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. this is diffinitely our families most favorite (shush even over the sauce style!) yours is making me crave a slice!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Peggy! You are so good making pizza from dough, unlike me relying on Trader Joe's dough. Making pizza from scratch is one of my list I have to accomplish. Your white pizza is interesting and I'd love to see the version with ricotta cheese on it!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love white pizza but often forget it in the mix of all the other pizza options. White pizza always tastes so light and doesnt often get its flavors as muddled. This looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  28. My first white pizza was eye opening, too. Who knew there was life beyond a red sauce?? Your version sounds delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love white pizza as well. Next time try with ricotta (or mozzarella), cherry tomatoes and arugola, it's just amazing! Giorgia & Cyril

    ReplyDelete
  30. Beautiful white pizza. Clear explanations. Inspires me to try out home made pizza :-)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love whole wheat pizza, they are rustic, just how I love them, and much more healthier too... I used cream basil opposed to the tomato based once.. pizza is limitless with possibilities.. I became a fan of fusion pizza since california pizza kitchen.. this sounds freak'n awesome and looks delish!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This is interesting to learn the ingredients of a white pizza.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love pizza and this looks so so morishly delicious.

    ReplyDelete