This pizza reminds me of a warm afternoon, sharing a glass of wine with friends and relaxing. I love kalamata olives, but you can mix and match as many toppings as you like. This pizza is so hearty that can take almost anything, use your imagination and improvise with what you have available. After that write me and tell me about your experiment! 
Ingredients
A) Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if the dough is too sticky
- 1/4 cup polenta flour (optional, this will give an extra crunch)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm water
- pinch sugar
- 1 envelope of active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 more for the bowl.
Mix the flours and the salt, set aside. Mix the water and sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast on top and cover for 15 minutes. After that time the yeast should have dissolved and look bubbly, then add the olive oil. Start adding the flour mixture to the yeast mixture little by little, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition. When you can't continue mixing with a spoon then place the dough in the counter top and continue mixing and adding the rest of the flour. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it feels smooth and no longer sticky. Sometimes the dough will seem to need more flour even when you used all up, then add more! just do it little by little so it won't be tough. In a clean bowl add the remaining olive oil and place the dough. Let it rise covered at room temperature for about 1 to 2 hours, until it doubles. Meanwhile prepare the tomato sauce.
B) Tomato Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- pinch sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- about 6 basil leaves, o 1 teaspoon dry oregano
Cook the olive oil and the garlic over medium heat until translucent (watch out because the garlic will burn easily and it will taste bitter) then add the tomatoes, be careful because they may splatter all over!. Cook under medium-low heat for about 30 minutes to 1 hour (while you wait for your dough to rise, how cool is that) with the lid half way. Mix with a wooden spoon from time to time. If it gets too dry add a little water. Add the sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cook for an extra 5 minutes. At the end add the basil or oregano.
C) Toppings:
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 1 red, orange or yellow pepper (or mixed colors) cut in strips and roasted in the oven
- 1 onion, sliced and cooked in olive oil until translucent. You can also caramelize it by cooking the onion under low-medium heat for 30 minutes. This will brown the natural sugars that the onions have and caramelize them.
- 1/2 bunch blanched spinach
- 2-3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 2 to 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, depending on your taste and on how thick you like your pizza
- plus any other topping that you like
Preheat the over at 350. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil. Flour the working surface and turn the dough in one piece. Divide in half if you like thin pizzas. Roll the dough to the size of the pan and carefully transfer it. Cover and let to rest for 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, mozzarella and toppings. Bake in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes (again the time will depend on the thickness of the dough) just take a pick underneath and is ready when it looks golden brown. Enjoy!
Comments