White Pizza

White Pizza is our favorite kind . . . no meat, just several different cheeses and a few veggies – no tomato sauce.  We make the same basic crust for regular pizzas, too.  It’s crisp on the edges and softer inside . . . perfect!  We used to have to go to an Italian deli for the Semolina flour, but now most grocery stores carry it in the flour section.

White Pizza

Ingredients

½ cup all purpose flour

½ cup Semolina flour

½ tsp. salt

½ oz. dry yeast

½ cup lukewarm water

olive oil (see amounts in directions)

1 tbl. shortening

2 tbl. cornmeal

1 garlic clove, smashed & minced, then sauteéd  in 2 tbl. of olive oil until soft, about 2 minutes

8 fresh Basil leaves, simmered  in water for a few minutes, drained and then sliced into thin strips

1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, cut into ¼” rings

½ red onion, sliced into 1/8” rings

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

8 mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in 1 tbl. olive oil and water until tender and liquid has evaporated

good pinch of black pepper

½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled

2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

12 oz. Mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated

Directions

·         Sift the 2 flours together with the salt and place in a bowl

·         Sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water in a bowl, stir in and let proof for 10 minutes

·         Pour yeast mixture over the flour mixture and stir until well blended

·         Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and using your hands, form a soft dough ball

·         Knead well, pulling and stretching until smooth and elastic - see video below (may need to add a bit more flour if too wet or water if too dry)
·       Lightly oil a bowl and place dough ball in the bowl and roll it around in the oil, then cover with a towel and let rise in a warm location for 2 to 3 hours, until almost doubled in size

·         On a 15” pizza stone, spread 1 tbl. shortening and 2 tbl. cornmeal evenly

·         Roll the dough ball out to a 12” circle on a lightly floured surface

·         Carefully place the dough on the pizza stone and press out the edges all the way around with your fingers until you form a crust

·         Let dough rise again while on the pizza stone for another 20 minutes

·         Poke the crust in several places with a fork, then brush with olive oil and the sautéed garlic evenly

·         Place the Basil strips evenly around the crust, then also sprinkle the oregano evenly over crust

·         Top with bell peppers, onions, Parmesan, mushrooms, black pepper, Feta cheese, and tomatoes

·         Heat oven to 425°

·         Bake the pizza about 14 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle with the Mozzarella and a bit more Parmesan, and drizzle with 1 tbl. olive oil

·         Reduce oven heat to 400, return the pizza to the oven and bake another 10 minutes

·         Remove from oven, slice and eat!  Enjoy!