Deep Dish Pizza Crust

Adapted from Allrecipes

My husband requested that I mixed it up and tried a new pizza dough recipe.  After a couple of tries with other recipes, I stumbled on this one.  It is fantastic!  It's very reminiscent of Pizza Hut's pan pizza crust.  

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided

 Directions:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Stir the salt and olive oil into the yeast solution.  Mix in 2 ½ cups of the flour
• Turn the dough onto a clean, well floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.  Place the dough into a well oiled bowl and cover with a cloth.  Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.  Punch down the dough and form a tight ball.  Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough and bake immediately.  If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan and let the dough rise for 15 minutes before topping and baking it.
• Bake pizza in preheated oven until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.  

Pizza Rustica w/ Quick Mix Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough adapted from Allrecipes and Pizza Rustica inspired from Bottoms Up Pizza

Pizza Dough:

Ingredients:

• 1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 ½ cups bread flour
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes
• Stir in flour, salt and oil.  Beat until smooth.  Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round.  Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan dusted with cornmeal.  Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 Pizza Rustica:

Ingredients:

• Pizza sauce
• 15 oz. ricotta
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• ½ of breakfast sausage tube
• Baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
• Fresh or frozen spinach, water squeezed out if frozen

 Directions:

• Cook sausage on stovetop at medium-high heat until brown.  Layer pizza toppings in order listed above, spreading the ricotta cheese layer as thin as possible.  

Teriyaki Chicken Pizza

Adapted from Allrecipes

Another creative pizza recipe.  I like to mix it up when it comes to pizza.  This one was a fun change of pace!

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pizza dough (see recipe index)
• 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 6 oz. teriyaki sauce
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• 10 oz. pineapple tidbits
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• Red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

• Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Roll out the pizza dough and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Layer pizza crust with teriyaki sauce, cheese, chicken, pineapple, green onions and red pepper flakes.  Bake for 8-10 more minutes.  Slice and serve!

Breakfast Pizza

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and A Taste of Richmond: Recipes from the Ladies of the Innsbrook Ward

My friend Brittany made this for us once when a few of us went to stay at a cabin near Luray, VA. It was SO scrumptious. So, when my hubby asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day breakfast in bed I thought of this. It's simple to make, but so delicious. Since it is kind of a pain to prepare pizza dough in the morning he just used some frozen dough, thawed, and it was perfect. Serve with some hot sauce or marinara if desired!

Ingredients:

• Favorite recipe of pizza dough (see Recipe Index)
• 6 strips bacon
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated Mozzarella
• 6 large eggs
• 1 large bunch of green onions, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

• Prepare pizza according to recipes directions.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Roll out pizza dough and place on pizza pan.  Cook for 10-12 minutes. 
• In the meantime, cook bacon in medium sized pan until crispy.  Cool on a paper-towel lined plate; roughly chop.
• Remove dough from oven and layer on the Mozzarella and Parmesan, bacon and green onions.  Crack the eggs over the top of the pizza and season with salt and pepper. 
• Bake the pizza for another 8-10 minutes.  For the last minute or so turn the broiler onto low to make sure the eggs cooked well on top.  Let cool for 2 minutes, slice and serve.      

Fajita Pizza

I haven't made a homemade pizza for about 2 months!  I can't believe it!  My husband started bugging me to make one and when I asked him what kind he wanted he said a "mexican one".  So, I decided to do a fajita pizza. 

Ingredients:

• One pizza crust recipe (see Recipe Index)
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 1-2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
• 1 onion, cut into strips
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 fajita packet and recipe ingredients on back of package
• ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ½ cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/3  cup fresh salsa, divided
• 1 avocado
• 2 Tbs lime juice
• Salt, to taste
• Sour cream

Directions:

• Make pizza crust according to recipe directions.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Bake crust for 10 minutes. 
• In the meantime, heat olive oil in a heavy, large pan over medium heat.  Cook chicken, bell peppers and onions for 5 minutes in oil or until onion is tender.  Add the fajita mix and fajita mix ingredients to pan; mix thoroughly.  Allow the chicken and veggies to absorb the fajita mix for about 5 minutes. 
• When the 10 minutes of baking the crust is complete, remove from oven and add your toppings.  Cover the crust with the Mozzarella and Sharp Cheddar cheese.  Spread the chicken fajita mixture evenly over crust.  Return to oven and cook for 8-10 more minutes. 
• In the meantime, make your guacamole.  Mash avocado with fork.  Add 3-4 Tbs fresh salsa, lime juice and salt to taste.  Mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When the cooking time for pizza is complete, remove from oven and top evenly with remaining fresh salsa.  (Note:  you may need to soak up extra juices from salsa with paper towels after adding to pizza.) 
• Serve pizza with guacamole and sour cream. 

Note:  I meant to add black beans to the topping and COMPLETELY forgot.  I mustn’t forget next time, although it was still delicious without. 

Thai Chicken Pizza

Adapted from All Recipes

I think my current obsession must be peanut butter in entree dishes!  This pizza was fantastic.  It's pretty difficult to ruin a pizza, though, so I always love the new types of pizza we try.  This one is very reminiscent of California Pizza Kitchen's Thai Chicken Pizza.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• One pizza recipe (see Recipe Index)
• 7 oz. Thai Peanut Sauce
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 8 oz. cooked, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• ½ cup fresh white bean sprouts
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts

Directions:

• Prepare pizza according to recipe directions.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Cook pizza crust for 12 minutes.  In the meantime, stir Peanut sauce and peanut butter together in a small bowl.  After crust has completed cooking, spread the peanut sauce mix over the crust.  Arrange the cheese on top, then top with pieces of chicken and green onion.
• Bake the pizza for 8-10 more minutes in oven.  When pizza is done cooking, top with sprouts, carrots and peanuts.
• Slice into wedges and serve.

Note:  Next time top with chopped cilantro, as well.

Taco Pizza

Another pizza creation!  I have made fajita pizza before and we LOVED it, so I thought we might as well try taco pizza.  It was new and fun, but I have to admit that I like the fajita pizza slightly more.  Still scrumptious, but there has to be preferences, right?  Make sure to top with salsa and sour cream.

Ingredients:

• One pizza crust recipe
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
• ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ½ lb ground beef
• ¼ cup taco seasoning
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• ¼ cup green onions

Additional Toppings:

• Salsa
• Sour Cream

Directions:

• Prepare crust according to recipe directions.  {See recipe index}
• Cook crust for 12 minutes at 450 degrees F.   Meanwhile, brown ground beef at medium-high on stove top.  Add taco seasoning and mix thoroughly. 
• Remove pizza crust from oven.  Add toppings in the order listed above {cheese, ground beef, bell pepper, green onions}. 
• Bake in oven for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with salsa and sour cream. 

Pesto Pizza

My own adaptation

I like creating my own combination of pizza toppings.  It's an easy recipe to create, especially if you have a sensational pizza dough recipe, like the one posted on this site.  (See Recipe Index Link.)  I think my husband was a little disappointed initially that I had made an all veggie pizza, but once he tasted it he was happy again.  I know walnuts on pizza is a bit of a surprise, but it is really good.  Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pizza dough
• ½ cup basil pesto
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
• 1 can marinated artichoke hearts
• 3 roma tomatoes, sliced
• ¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• ¼ cup walnut pieces

Directions:

• Follow recipe for pizza dough. 
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Cook dough for 12 minutes and remove from oven.  Spread pesto on crust.  Layer Mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts over pesto layer. 
• Cook for 12 more minutes.  Pesto will create a lot of oil, so may want to blot up excess oil with paper towels.

Notes:  Consider adding sausage, bell peppers or mushrooms.  Try other types of pesto

with this as well.

Easy Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Chelsey listed her delicious pizza recipe on here which looked so good. Plus, Dal has been talking about pizza all week, so I just had to make a pizza. We were a little low on ingredients but had just the right stuff to make some barbecue chicken pizza. Dallan loved it so much he said he could eat it everyday. I'm not so sure about that, but we thought it was pretty good :) This recipe is created from a compilation of different barbecue chicken recipes. It doesn't always list amounts-so just add how much you like of that ingredient!

Ingredients:

1 pizza crust

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

olive oil

salt and pepper

barbecue sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 onion, preferably red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

To prepare your chicken, preheat oven to 350. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake covered or wrapped in aluminum foil. Bake 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. When cooked and cooled, shred or dice chicken. Add barbecue sauce to taste.

Top prepared dough with barbecue sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese, onions and chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake in 450 degree oven until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Wingin' It Pizza

Adapted from Allrecipes

A local pizza joint has a pizza similar to this on their menu that I have always wanted to try.  The problem is their menu is yummy, full of many specialty pizzas that I want to try, so I have trouble getting to them all.  And we make pizza often, so I can actually make my own version faster than I'd get around to visiting the pizza joint again.  Thus, I went in search of a recipe online to find a recipe that was similar to the Buffalo Wings pizza and came up with this.  My husband thought this could just be his favorite pizza creation so far {he says that about almost every new pizza, though} and I was loving the mixture of Blue Cheese and Wing Sauce on my favorite pizza crust.  So good!

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pizza dough (see Recipe Index)
• 1 bottle of store bought wing sauce
• 1-2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 large red bell pepper, julienned
• 7 oz of blue cheese, or to taste
• Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for dipping, optional

Directions:

• Cook pizza dough for 12 minutes in pre-heated oven (425 degrees F).
• While crust is cooking, take shredded chicken in a pot and mix with  ½ cup of wing sauce.  Place on stove on medium heat and allow chicken to marinade in sauce for about 15 minutes.  Drain excess sauce before layering on pizza.
• Remove crust from oven and pour about ¼ cup of wing sauce over crust.  Use a marinade brush and spread a thin layer of sauce thoroughly over crust.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  Then spread your remaining toppings over the mozzarella layer (the red bell pepper, shredded chicken and blue cheese).
• Cook for another 12 minutes in pre-heated oven. 
• Serve with Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for dipping, if desired.

Makes 1 large pizza.

Pizza Dough

Adapted from A Hint of Honey {ahintofhoney.blogspot.com}

Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the dough.  The picture of the pizza above will have to suffice this time!  I wanted to post the pizza dough recipe separately since we make pizza about every other week and it will be easier to refer to the link in the future.  This pizza dough recipe is the best!  My friend gave me the recipe and it became a hit among the girls in our church.  So much of a hit that another girl published it in the ward cookbook to make sure it was included, giving due credit to the original chef, of course.  Anyway, this pizza dough makes a fantabulous crust.  I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water (110-120 degrees F, over 120 degrees will kill your yeast
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup bread flour (+ up to ¼ cup more for kneading)
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. In a glass or plastic bowl (metal can negatively affect yeast), dissolve honey in warm water. Add yeast and let sit (at least 10 minutes) until yeast is active and bubbly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, and salt. Create a well in the center.
3. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the well in your flour mixture bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil. Using a spatula and then your fingers, mix the dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. Knead the dough on the counter top, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour just until it is no longer sticking to the counter and has a smooth texture. (You can brush a little olive oil onto your fingers for the kneading process.)
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about an hour. You can test if your dough has risen enough by poking it with a finger. If the imprint stays, then the dough is ready.
6. Deflate the dough into a ball, and let it rest on your counter for at least 10 minutes before you create the crust.
7. Preheat the oven and pizza stone (sprinkle with corn meal or semolina flour before placing in the oven) to 450 degrees F. This will take 15-20 minutes. A scorching hot pizza stone is the key to getting that puffy evenly cooked crust.
8. To shape your crust you will simply use your hands and gravity. DO NOT use a rolling pin- it will press out all of the air that has formed in your dough. Take the ball of dough in your hands and simply begin pulling it around the edges. It should start to stretch easily. Rotate it around your first making sure you are stretching each side evenly, so that you have a round crust. The middle will be fairly thin, and you want to leave the edges thicker so they will puff up.
9. Now you have several options. First is to open the preheated oven and place your crust directly on the stone. Then add your sauce and toppings and close the oven. This allows a fair bit of heat to escape the oven though so it is not ideal. The second option is to place your "rolled" out crust on a sheet of parchment paper. You can then add the sauce and toppings. Carry the pizza to the oven and place it on the stone (parchment paper stays beneath it). This makes removing the pizza from the oven easy as well-you simply pick up the parchment paper! Last of all, if you own a pizza peel, place your crust on the peel, add your sauce and toppings, then use the peel to slide it onto the pizza stone. Once it is cooked you will slide it off the stone back onto the peel. If you are cooking multiple pizzas the second and third options are best, as they do not require you to remove the stone from the oven and it will stay hot.
10. Bake your pizza for approximately 10-15 minutes, until the crust is puffy and starting to turn golden brown, and the cheese is melted and bubbling up.
11. Once you have removed your pizza from the oven, let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it. You can slice right on the pizza stone if you wish. And enjoy!

NOTE: Carefully follow any directions for cleaning your stone. Soap should not be used, only hot water.

Makes 1 large pizza.