Pizza Pizza!

Last night was homemade pizza night!  My Grandma Nancy has been making pizza at her house for at least 15 years.  Whenever we would make the ride out to Pennsylvania we would beg for her to make "Grandma Pizza"...it would only be a 5 hour drive to pick up our pizza order hehe!  She loads a fluffy crust with, in this order: sauce, parmesan, pepperoni, sausage, olives, and two kinds of shredded cheese.   It bakes and bakes and bakes, and when it finally comes out of the oven is bubbling, golden brown, and smells something beyond delicious!

When I asked my brother what he wanted for dinner this week, since he goes back to dining hall food this weekend, he said, "Grandma Pizza!"  I wanted to go Grandma's route, but couldn't afford the list of ingredients with the food budget, so I decided to go with a Barbecue Chicken Pizza and a Rustic Vegetable Pizza.

I made a crust from scratch with a recipe from my Kitchen Aid book, which I am now referring to as the Holy Grail.  I doubled this recipe to make 2 pizzas!

Crusty Pizza Dough 
Yields dough for 1 large pizza
Source: Recipes For Your Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

Ingredients 
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl.  Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups flour.  Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer.  Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes.  Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover.  Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.  Punch dough down.

Brush 14-inch pizza pan with oil.  Sprinkle with cornmeal.  Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings.  Add toppings as desired.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

I stuck fairly close to the recipe since I am still pretty new to the world of raised doughs, but I did make a few small changes because of what was available to me in my kitchen pantry.  I was out of olive oil, so I replaced it with white truffle oil, which just added to the flavor of the crust.  It did not changed the dough physically.  The only other change I made was the pan I used.  A pizza pan is not something I have added to my cooking arsenal yet, so I split the dough in two balls (remember...I made a double batch!) and spread it across to large baking sheets!  

And for the toppings...

On the chicken pizza, I poured a 18 ounce jar of BBQ sauce, 1 pound of chopped pan-seared chicken, and 2 cups of shredded white cheddar.

On the veggie pizza, I placed a handful of spinach leaves, sundried tomatoes, sliced black olives, shitake mushrooms, and a heavy sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 

The results are in... 

The Barbecue Chicken Pizza was a HUGE hit!  The Veggie Pizza, on the other hand, was good but missing something...I think it is called moisture!  Oops!  I really should have put some red sauce down on it, or opted for a shredded cheese that would have added some moisture while it cooked.  You cook, you learn...I'll have better luck next time hehe!