Pear, Blue Cheese & Bacon Focaccia-Style Pizza

By GadgetGirl

If you don't own a pizza pan, you can find inexpensive, disposable rimmed pizza pans at the supermarket. Goes great with a quick side salad.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 package dry yeast, about 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 ounces all-purpose flour, about 1 3/4 cups
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 3 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
• 1 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 1 Bosc pear, thinly sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 35mins
Cooking time 150mins
Adapted from cookinglight.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine 1/2 cup warm water, 5 teaspoons oil, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°F), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a 12-inch rimmed pizza pan sprinkled with cornmeal. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes.

Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon. Return pan to medium heat. Add onion to drippings; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Combine ricotta and nutmeg in a small bowl. Spread ricotta mixture over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top evenly with bacon, onion mixture, and blue cheese. Brush edges of dough with remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Bake at 450°F for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Top pizza evenly with arugula and pear; sprinkle with pepper. Cut into 8 wedges.

For a quick side salad, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes, 5 cups mixed greens, 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, and 1/4 cup chopped pitted dates; toss to coat.