Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- Optional: 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 20 pepperoni slices
- OR
- 1/2 pound cooked spicy italian sausage
- OR
- omit meat
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
Preparation
Step 1
First start by making the crust: In a large bowl of an electric mixer, mix flour, cornmeal, salt, yeast, olive oil, melted butter and water together with a wooden spoon. Once dough begins to form, place dough hook on mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky.
Next place dough in an medium bowl lightly oiled with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until dough has doubled.
After dough has doubled, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Generously oil an 9-inch cake pan, 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch skillet. Make sure you coat the sides of the pan with oil too to ensure that dough doesn't stick.
Stretch out dough with your hands to form a large circle, place in pan and stretch dough up the sides a bit. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for 15 minutes. After dough has rested, stretch the dough again and push it up the sides of the pan to form your crust. Bake for 10 minutes until it turns barely golden brown on the crust.
Allow crust to cool a bit before placing toppings and sauce on top.
Cover the bottom of the crust with sliced mozzarella. Next add the onions, green peppers, jalapenos and meat (if using). Spread pizza sauce over the top of veggies and meat. TRUST ME, you will not need more than 1/2 cup of pizza sauce, otherwise the sauce will get watery once baked and you'll have a soggy mess.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella over the top. Bake pizza for 20-25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and crust is a nice golden brown. Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry you are.