Pizza – thick/thin, grilled/baked

By KatKD

Ingredients

• Margherita style crust:
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 ½ T olive oil
• 1 t sugar (do not use artificial sweetener)
• ¾ t salt
• 1 cup white flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ t dry yeast
• Traditional style crust:
• ⅞ cup warm water
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 ½ cups white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• Pizza toppings:
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 1 4-oz can sliced black olives, drained and patted dry
• ⅓ cup salad reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 6-8 white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 8 thin slices yellow bell pepper
• 8 thin slices red bell pepper
• 2 thin slices onion – yellow, sweet, or red
• 2 oz turkey pepperoni, heated in the microwave on paper towels to remove grease
• 1-2 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, peeled (optional)
• Fresh herbs: basil, oregano, rosemary (optional)
• Coarse salt (optional)

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

For the crust:
Using a fork or small whisk, mix the yeast into the warm water and let stand about 5 minutes. The mixture should be bubbly. In a mixing bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, salt, sugar, and about half of the white flour. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the olive oil. Stir in the yeast mixture, adding the remaining flour as needed. Knead the dough on a floured surface, using any remaining flour or adding more flour if necessary. The dough should be smooth and elastic – knead about 5 minutes. Form a ball and place in an oiled bowl to rise. This could take up to 1 ½ hours. (See my note on proofing dough.)

To assemble the pizza:
Lightly oil a 12-14 inch pizza pan, deep dish if you have one, with olive oil. Put the dough in the middle of the pan and, working from the center toward the edge, gently flatten and form the dough by pushing with your hands or a pizza roller, if you have one. Using your thumb, form an edge. Brush about 1 T olive oil around the edge and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.

Spread pizza sauce evenly over dough, then sprinkle on the olives and cover with the mozzarella cheese. Being as decorative as you wish, add the bell pepper slices, mushrooms, onion, and turkey pepperoni.
If using the garlic and herbs, whirl them with the parmesan cheese in a mini-processor and sprinkle on top. If not using garlic and herbs, sprinkle the parmesan and top. Then, lightly drizzle about 1 T of olive oil across the pizza.

To bake:
Preheat the oven to 450°F and bake 15-22 minutes, until the crust is done and the top is lightly browned.

To grill:
Soak about ½ cup mesquite chips in water for about 30 minutes. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Drain and add the mesquite chips to the grill in advance so that they start to smoke. Place the pizza pan on the grill, cover, and grill for about 15 minutes, until the crust is done and the top is lightly browned. Check often, rotating the pan to ensure even cooking. (note about grilling on gas grill)