Bechamel Pizza

By winefoot

Ingredients

• 1 Pizza Dough
• 4 oz. Bechamel Sauce
• 1/2 Sauteed Onion
• 4 oz. Fresh Mozzarella

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from bakingsteel.com

Preparation

Step 1

Caramelized onions add such potency to just about any dish.  They are simple to make and yet, bang out huge savory sweetness. Without question, one of my favorite toppings on a pizza. Today, I want to add another layer of flavor. I’m borrowing a chapter out of Jim Lahey’s, “My Pizza” and I’m going to create a bechamel sauce as the base.  Layering a combination of sweet and savory on top of a pizza resulted in one amazing bechamel pizza. After a couple of attempts, one with and one without a bechamel, the difference was profound!

1.At least 2 hours prior to preparing your pizza, allow dough to rest for 2 hours at room temperature. Place Baking Steel on top rack.  Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees or on full throttle.

2. Stretch or roll out dough to a 12 inch cylinder, or any shape will do. Lightly flour your peel and place dough on top.

4. Add fresh mozzarella and sauteed onions distribute evenly

1 Pour about one-third of the milk into a saucepan. Cut the butter into a few chunks (so they’ll melt more easily) and add to the milk. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until the butter melts but without allowing the milk to reach a boil.

2 Meanwhile, put the flour in a medium mixing bowl, add the remaining milk, and whisk into a slurry. Once the butter has been completely incorporated into the hot milk, ladle some of the warm mixture into the cold flour mixture to warm it. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan and whisk it in. Stir in the salt.

3 Over medium-low heat, whisk the mixture frequently—to prevent sticking—as it cooks and thickens. The béchamel is done at about 180°F, when it has reached the consistency of a runny sauce or heavy cream. Grate in the nutmeg and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. It will continue to thicken slightly as it cools. Use the béchamel immediately or cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 5 days and bring up to room temperature before using.

The one addition I add to my Béchamel pizzas is adding a thinly sliced potato.

Hey Brian, that would be an excellent addition…

A trick I learned from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is to add spices and herbs to the milk as you warm it and let it make an spice/herbal milk “tea” for about 15 minutes and then strain before making the bechamel–for this pizza maybe some thyme, summer savory, sage, crushed garlic, or coarsely ground pepper corns?

excellent idea. I added a little nutmeg to this one, i think i forgot to add. It’s a nice blank canvas to add flavors.