Pioneer Woman's Favourite Pizza

When someone who cooks like the Pioneer Woman says this is her favourite pizza recipe, I had to try it since it's that good! 

The dough for the pizza base should be made at 24 hours before baking and a few days if possible. I didn't have the luxury of time to wait for a few days so I only let the dough sit for 24 hours. The dough was a perfect balance of crispness and chewiness. I served it for a dinner party and all my friends said that this pizza base is great!

I used a combination of egg plants, yellow zucchini and cherry tomatoes for the pizza, topped with Mozarella cheese and topped fresh basil before serving. This pizza base would certainly work well with any type of toppings.

Pioneer Woman's Favourite Pizza (Serves 8)

Recipe from Pioneer Woman  

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

FOR THE PIZZA:

• 1 whole Large Eggplant (or Two Medium Eggplants)
• 1 yellow Zucchini (my own addition)
• Kosher Salt, For Sprinkling
• 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 226 g, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Very Thin
• 1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Drizzling
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

• Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
• In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
• Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

TO MAKE THE VEGETABLES TOPPING:

• Preheat oven broiler.
• Slice the eggplant thinly. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and place into a strainer in the sink. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant lightly in cold water, then pat the slices dry between layers of paper towels.
• Slice grape tomatoes in half lengthwise and toss into a bowl with minced garlic.
• Slice mozzarella very thinly.
• Cut eggplant slices into fourths, and toss with olive oil. Cut Zucchini into thin slices and toss with a little olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and place 8 inches under the broiler.
• Broil for 3 minutes, then toss around and broil another 3 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add tomato/garlic mixture. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and set aside. (May do this 1 hour in advance.)

TO ASSEMBLE PIZZA

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees (I baked at 200 degrees C)
• Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.
• Lightly drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and use fingers to spread. Lay mozzarella slices over the surface of the dough. Spread vegetables all over the surface of the cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from pan and slice with a pizza cutter. Serve immediately!

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

This is for our Aspiring Bakers #35: A Palate for Pizza (September 2013) hosted by Joey of Little Accidents in the Kitchen.