basil tofu ricotta pizza with roasted vegetables on a boozy crust

Yesterday I posted about my chocolate chip cookie quest.

Today I bring you my quest for the perfect pizza dough.

A pizza dough that creates a crispy exterior crust with a slightly chewy interior crumb.



Ladies and gentlemen, I have found that dough.

No wood fired oven needed (although that is the next project on my list!).

The crust was the star of the show last week, but this pizza that Nic and I threw together after a visit to the farmers market just screams summer.

Boasting an abundance of roasted local produce on top of a creamy basil tofu ricotta, we couldn't help slicing "just one more piece" until the pie eventually disappeared. Well, really, I just forced the both of us to stop eating it so we could have leftovers for lunch the next day.



Boozy Pizza Dough
This will make enough for at least two large pizzas

You'll need::

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups good beer (I used Peace Tree Hop Wrangler)
• 3 cups bread flour
• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

To make::

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast and honey. Set aside for about 5 minutes until frothy (ie - proof that your yeast is alive and well). Add olive oil, beer, salt, bread flour and 2.5 cups of the whole wheat pastry flour. Knead, using the dough hook, on low speed until a ball if formed, adding in more of the whole wheat pastry flour as needed. The ball should not stick to the sides of the bowl, but should stick slightly to the bottom. Knead for a few minutes (about 3 total).

Remove dough to a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover with saran warp.

If you want to use the dough that day, set in a warm place and let rise for a few hours (until doubled in size).

I just threw the dough in to the fridge and let it rise slowly for 3-4 days. When I was ready to use it, I set it out on the counter and let it come to room temperature before rolling out.

When ready to make:: 

Preheat oven to 500*. 

About 10 minutes before you are ready to cook the pizza, place a cookie sheet into the oven, lower rack. 

Roll/pat out the dough to whatever thickness you desire. We've done a thin and thick crust and both turned out great.

Transfer the dough to the hot cookie sheet in the oven. I haven't perfected this quite yet, and if you happen to walk into the kitchen during this process, you might hear a few choice words. If you have a pizza peel, that would work the best, or you could dust another cookie sheet with some cornmeal and roll/pat out the dough on that. This should allow for an easy transfer into the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until beginning to brown. You are going to get some bubbles in the crust - these are my favorite parts. You can pierce them with a fork to deflate if you want.

Top your pizza with whatever toppings and bake another 5 to 10 minutes on the upper rack until the toppings are hot/bubbly/etc.

We topped this pizza with basil tofu ricotta from the first episode of "Save the Kales" (check it out - it is a very fun vegan cooking show!), roasted zucchini, a handful of teeny tiny tomatoes from our garden and kalamata olives.

Believe me, the quest hasn't stopped when it comes to pizza dough. Right now, I have a version in the fridge made with root beer, because you can't have pizza without having dessert pizza, too!