pizza pizza

What's not to love about pizza?  Warm bread, melty cheese, and decadent toppings.  When we lived in North Carolina, Josh and I ate pizza (from the same place) at least once a week.  It was usually our Sunday night splurge (or saving grace), while pulling into town from a weekend away.  Moving to Florida has had plenty of advantages, but we have yet to find a pizza place down here that compares to our old favorite.  

Several months ago, I picked up some pizza dough from the bakery section of Publix on a whim.  I went with the dough ball that has to be formed and shaped with some pretty intense rolling.  Not quite sure what I would do with the dough, I threw some figs into my cart and headed on my way home.  A few days later, I pulled the dough from the freezer and inspiration hit - fig, goat cheese, and balsalmic glaze would make a near perfect pizza.  Healthy?  No.   Delicious?  Yes.  

After that fateful night, I've been hooked.  I love rolling out the pizza dough and being creative with toppings.  One of my favorites is the addition of arugula tossed lightly in lemon juice to the top of an otherwise plain pizza.  

As a disclaimer: I am still eating gluten free, and haven't made too many (read: any) pizzas in the past month.  I bought some GF pizza crust flour made by Thomas Keller last weekend, so I am betting it will make a darn good GF dough.  More to come on that, but in the meantime I wanted to share these favorite combinations with you all so you can enjoy.

Homemade White Pizza

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough (I prefer the dough ball from the bakery section of Publix.  I've tried Whole Foods as well, but Publix is my favorite.)
• Flour for rolling out the dough
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• Fresh mozzarella cheese (It's worth it to use the fresh ball, not the pre-shredded)
• Shredded mozzarella, parmesan, or other cheese of your choice
• Toppings of your choice: 
• Figs
• Goat Cheese
• Pears
• Proscuitto
• Arugula*
• Truffle Oil**

*Toss lightly in lemon juice and add to top of fully cooked pizza.  

**Drizzle lightly over fully cooked pizza to finish.  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour.  Lay thawed pizza dough on counter and roll into a circle or square about 1/4 inch thick.  Transfer pizza dough to a baking sheet or pizza stone.  (I use a baking sheet and silpat.)
3. Mix olive oil and garlic in a small bowl.  Brush mixture onto pizza dough, taking care to spread evenly to the edges.  
4. Slice fresh mozzarella into 6-8 thin slices.  Spread evenly over the dough.  Top with shredded cheese of your choice.  (The amount of cheese here is personal preference.  I love cheese, so I usually cover most of the dough with cheese.)
5. Add other toppings as desired.  See above for my favorite combinations
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden and cheese is bubbly.  Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

xo,