Ingredients
Pizza dough:
-
1 (.0.25 ounce) packet (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1-1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Cornmeal for dusting
Pizza toppings:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese or pizza-blend cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 pound ground sweet sausage
- 1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup caramelized onions
- 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions
Dough:
1. Dissolve the yeast in the water. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, mix dissolved yeast, sugar, and olive oil with a rubber spatula or wire whisk. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and incorporate the flour and salt until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 to 6 minutes. Grease the mixing bowl and place the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until doubled, about one hour. Punch down. Let rise again until doubled, about one hour. Turn out onto a lightly flavored work surface and divide evenly unto four rounds. Place any unused pizza dough into a plastic bag that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and then refrigerate or freeze. Dough will last for up to two days in the fridge and about one month in the freezer. Cover the rounds loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until doubled, about one hour.
3. Place a pizza stone into the oven and preheat to 550 degrees.
4. Roll out pizza dough into a 12-14-inch circle. Sprinkle a wooden pizza paddle with a few tablespoons of cornmeal. Place the rolled out dough on top. Quickly pull back and forth to ensure the pizza dough doesn't stick to the wooden paddle.
Toppings:
5. Use a tablespoon to spread olive oil on the dough, leaving about 1 to 1 1/2-inches of crust without oil. Repeat with the marinara sauce. Pull the paddle back and forth after placing each topping, ensuring your dough does not stick. Add a light sprinkle of mozzarella, and then evenly distribute the sausage in small clumps. Add the apple, onions, Gorgonzola, and oregano. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Quickly slide the uncooked pizza onto the hot pizza stone, Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
More from A Farmgirl's Table:
Rustic Blueberry Muffin Recipe
This excerpt is reprinted with permission from A Farmgirl's Tableby Jessica Robinson, published by Gibbs Smith, 2017.
In A Farmgirl’s Table
Pork sausage with the tart flavor of granny smith apples, caramelized onions and a touch of Gorgonzola cheese make this pizza out of this world. This recipe makes enough dough for four pizzas, so you can either store the unused dough or increase the amount of toppings and make more than one pizza.
