Thin Crust Cheese Pizza

Wowsers, this was such a great recipe! I'm a huge thin-crust pizza fan, but have yet to find a good at-home thin crust pizza dough recipe, until now.

I loved that you can make this dough up to 3 days ahead of time and that it freezes beautifully. The one potentially tricky thing is that you do need to make it at least 24 hours ahead of time. So it's not a same day recipe, but if you plan your menus for the week or know a day or 2 in advance of when you're making it, it's really quick to throw together and stick in the fridge and then get on with your planned dinner for that day. The idea behind the long and refrigerated rise time (plus the use of ice water as opposed to warm water), is that the less quickly it raises and the more minimal the volume of rising that occurs the thinner the crust will be. It works!

Now normally I like a lot of stuff on my pizza, plenty to entertain my palette. But when I saw the picture of this plain cheese pizza on Annie's Eats, I knew I just wanted pure, unadulterated cheese pizza. No frills. And it delivered! So satisfying despite the lack of toppings (although it would be a great candidate for any toppings one might hope for). And the pizza sauce was fantastic too. We ate it twice in a week's time!

Thin Crust Cheese Pizza

{Recipe from Annie's Eats. Do plan ahead as the dough needs to raise at least 24 hours and as much as 3 days. Dough Yield's 2-13 inch pizzas, Sauce-plenty for up to 4 pizzas and it's freezer friendly just like the dough, yay!}

Crust:

3 cups bread flour

2 t sugar

1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/3 cups ICE water

1 T veggie oil

1 1/2 salt

Sauce:

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained

1 T olive oil

1 t red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 t salt

1 t oregano

1/4 t ground black pepper

Topping: (Note: In this instance it's better to grate your own cheese fresh, no pre-grated. It will melt way better)

Olive oil, for brushing

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella (the softer the better, I usually go for the ball of mozz. as opposed to the brick)

To make the dough, combine flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor*. Pulse just to combine. With machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and process just until dough is combined and all dry ingredients incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Add oil and salt to the dough. Process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, 30-60 seconds. Remove from the bowl and knead for about 1 minute on a lightly oiled work surface. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at 24 hours and up to 3 days. (If planning to freeze, after the initial 24 hours at least of refrigeration time is the time to do this--note to follow)

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend briefly till smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Leftover sauce may be frozen for later use)

One hour before baking the pizza, remove dough from fridge and divide in half. (This is the time to wrap and freeze dough for another time. Just wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer bag for later) Form each half into a ball and place on lightly oiled baking sheet, spray dough balls with cooking spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for 1 hour.

To assemble pizza, place pizza stone or sheet on second highest rack position in oven. Preheat oven to 500. Transfer dough ball to a well floured work surface. Flatten into an 8 inch disk. Using hands or rolling pin gently stretch and roll into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a well-floured and large cutting board (something that will be easy to slide the made pizza off of and onto the hot pizza stone waiting in the oven). Lightly brush all around the outer edge with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup + pizza sauce over dough. Sprinkle evenly with grated parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheeses. Carefully transfer to the preheated baking stone or sheet. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cool 3-5 minutes before slicing and serving.

*A stand mixer may be used, just keep in mind the idea is to avoid warming the dough so it will be thin after baking.

Thai Chicken Pizza

Another out of the ordinary pizza combo. Thai food is so amazingly delicious and as it turns out thai flavors on a pizza are pretty darn good too. This was delightfully different. My son who strangely doesn't like pizza (tell me-what boy doesn't like pizza?!) rolled his eyes when we sat down to this meal. But we have a must-taste rule at our dinner table and before I knew it he was chowing down and going back for seconds and thirds and exclaiming "this is so good Mom!". Take THAT non-pizza lover! I found myself sneaking another piece after the kids went to bed-but hey, at least it wasn't my usual chocolate. A word to the wise-this can be a bit spicy, but just skip or tone down the red pepper flakes and you should be good. We liked ours with the heat though.

Thai Chicken Pizza

{Recipe from Tasty Kitchen Blog}

1 batch of favorite pizza dough, thinner crust is best in this case

Cornmeal for sprinkling pizza stone/pan

1/4-1/2 cup thai sweet red chili sauce (found mine in specialty asian section store)

1 whole shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 whole zucchini, thinly sliced

1 t or less red chili flakes

1 cup cooked shredded chicken (I simmered mine in chicken broth with a dash of curry powder)

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella (grating your own is always better for the melting factor)

A small handful of finely chopped peanuts

2 T fresh cilantro

2 T fresh basil (thai or otherwise)

Preheat your oven to 500 and roll or shape/stretch dough until 1/4 inch thick. Place dough on pizza stone, pan, or cookie sheet that has been lightly sprinkled with corn meal. (I usually spray first with cooking spray). Spread a thin layer of sweet chili sauce over pizza dough. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Layer on shallots, zucchini, and chicken. Spread shredded mozzarella evenly over entire pizza. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is golden and crust is lightly golden. (Keep a good eye on it, as ovens may vary). Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, cilantro, and basil. Slice and serve.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

Whoever thought up combining BBQ chicken and pizza was a genius! I first had this tasty combo at California Pizza Kitchen and I can't lie-I was a little skeptical. Pizza's supposed to have pepperoni and tomato sauce right? Not right. Since that fateful day long ago, I've had numerous out of the way combinations on pizza {shaved asparagus for starters} and I can say in all honesty they surpass the "typical" italian style we've come to think of every time. Tangy barbeque sauce, crispy crust, grilled chicken, and refreshing cilantro don't get any better. And just so we're clear-I still eat my fair share of italian-style pizza:0)

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

1-2 chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup bbq sauce

1/3 cup tomato sauce

Thinly sliced red onion

Mozzarella cheese, grated

Cilantro

One recipe of your favorite pizza crust (see mine below if needed)

Prepare pizza dough.

Heat grill. Sprinkle garlic salt or other seasoning on chicken. Brush with a bit of bbq sauce on both sides and grill until cooked through. Set aside and let rest before chopping. Mix bbq suace and tomato sauce together in small bowl. In separate bowl mix chopped chicken, crushed garlic, and just enough tomato/bbq sauce to coat.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Shape pizza dough on pizza stone or pizza pan sprayed with cooking spray and dusted with cornmeal. Spread generous amount of bbq sauce/tomato sauce mixture all over. (May not use it all.) Top with chicken and red onions. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese and bake at 475 for 10-15 minutes depending on desired doneness. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

PW's Pizza Dough

{Recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook}

1 tsp active yeast

4 cups flour

1 t kosher salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups warm water

Pour water in small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and gently stir. In bowl of electric mixer combine flour and salt. On low speed, gradually drizzle in olive oil into flour/salt. Add yeast/water. Knead with dough hook for a few minutes. Dough should be soft and tacky but not super sticky. Drizzle separate bowl with a little bit of olive oil. Add dough ball and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 1-2 hours, or store in fridge for up to 2 days. When the time comes stretch and shape dough with your hands, the thinner the better!

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Uh, yum! This was delightfully delicious. It was my first time trying it and I will definitely be making it again. Shaved asparagus seems a bit trendy at the moment and for good reason. I love asparagus all ways and shaving it just helps to take some of the heft out of it and makes it the perfect light topping for pizza. And never fear all the flavor is still there. I added some fresh garlic, a light spread of butter, some tomatoes, and somehow managed to stop short of adding some sort of meat product (the black forest ham deli meat was in my sights, thin strips of that would be pretty good I think) to the original recipe and thought it was plenty filling. The pizza crust makes sure of that. The garlic herb cheese the original recipe calls for and the squeeze of fresh lemon juice post-bake time I called for were the ultimate finishing touches.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

{Adapted from Annie's Eats}

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough (your own or try this one from Annie's Eats)
Olive oil, for brushing
8 oz. asparagus spears
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
3 oz. spreadable garlic herb cheese, such as Boursin
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (i opted for grape)

2 T butter

1 clove garlic, pressed

Lemon, cut and ready to squeeze over cooked pizza

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 450˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with olive oil. Spread 2 T butter mixed with 1 clove pressed garlic over that(

I just put mine on a round pizza pan I sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with corn meal that I didn't even preheat-but perhaps I should have?!)

Cut the tough woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the spears into ribbons. You likely will not need all of the asparagus, but use more ribbons than you think you need because it will cook down in the oven.

Place the sliced mozzarella over the pizza dough in an even layer. Pile the asparagus shavings and chopped tomatoes over the top of the mozzarella. Dot the surface of the pizza with the garlic herb cheese. Season with a little kosher salt and pepper.

Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, if desired squeeze fresh lemon juice over all. Slice and serve.