Homemade Pizza with Pumpkin! Crust
Last week I had an interesting day. I was filling up my gas tank when I noticed a nice looking older gentleman (like older than my dad) smiling at me. Normally I wouldn't pay any attention (because OBVIOUSLY this happens all the time), but his smiling became persistent.
Soon I couldn't wait for my gas tank to fill up fast enough, because I couldn't figure out why he kept smiling. Was my dress caught on my underwear like in those movies? Did a bird land in my hair?
But the gas was filling so slow. $34.50... $34.51... $34.52...
When it was done, I tried to swiftly jump into my car (in my mind I looked like a superhero ready for action; in real life I looked like an awkward girl trying to awkwardly jump into a tiny car), but he appeared right by my drivers side door.
He held up two lottery tickets.
"I bought these two lottery tickets today and I'm going to win because I saw you."
"Oh, really?" I said.
"And when I win, if I ever see you again, I will give you half of my earnings."
I could only awkwardly chuckle, say "thank you", and quickly drive away.
As completely random, and mildly creepy, as that experience was, it made me feel good. And pretty. But mostly creeped out.
This pizza is like that experience. It's like winning the lottery with a random stranger. Okay, so maybe I'm reaching a little far with that analogy.
But, it is AMAZING and totally easy. I've made it twice already and both times, my mind has been blown. Like across the street.
The recipe for the crust is exactly the same as that for that for the garlic knots I gave you a few days ago. The only difference is that instead of making the dough into knots, you roll it out into a big circle and pizza-fy it.
Homemade Pizza with Pumpkin! Crust
This pizza is positively scrumptious. It tastes so much better than anything you get for takeout. I don't think I can ever go back. Feel free to dress the crust however you wish. I'll give you some of my favorite options, but go crazy!
The garlic knots recipe which has photos of the dough process (which is exactly the same for this pizza) is here. I'm going to repost it for you though!
Ingredients
For Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 envelope (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon agave nectar
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin — or any of smooth puree, sweet potato, carrot, etc.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
For Pizza Toppings
White Pizza
- olive oil
- garlic
- mozzarella cheese
- ricotta cheese
Pizza with red sauce
- tomato sauce
- mozzarella
- mushrooms
- broccoli rabe
Or any other toppings that you'd like!
Method
1. Pour the warm water into a medium bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. Then add your agave nectar, olive oil, and pumpkin and whisk until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make an impression with you fist in the center. It should be large enough to hold your wet ingredients. Pour in the wet ingredients.
3. Start pulling everything together with a spatula. When you can no longer mix, use your hands to start kneading the dough. Keep kneading — and adding more flour as necessary — until you have a ball that’s smooth and elastic, but not sticky. This really only took a few minutes for me, maybe 5 or so.
4. Lightly oil another large bowl and put your dough ball inside it — rolling in the bowl once to coat both sides lightly with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours.
5. Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, put in a pizza stone (you may use a flipped over pan, but it works best with a stone), and divide the dough into two equal pieces. You can wrap the dough in plastic wrap to use later. If planning to use very soon, it can remain in the fridge, but you may want to place it in the freezer so that it lasts a bit longer (up to 3 weeks). Either storage method you use, make sure that you allow the dough to come to room temperature before you use it. Otherwise, it won’t be very elastic.
6. When ready to bake. Preheat a pizza stone at 425°F. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use a sheet pan - although I wouldn't heat it beforehand.
7. Flatten out your dough into a round. Once stone is preheated, bake on one side for 4 to 5 minutes.
8. Then remove from oven, flip over and start building your pizza on the baked side.
9. Top the pizza with desired amounts of toppings - I just kind of wing it and bake for another 12 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
Recipe from (never)home maker
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