As a food blogger, it seems as though I am always brainstorming new recipes and
browsing a wide array of other foodie sites. It should therefore come as no surprise that I
rarely make the same exact meal over and over again. That being said, I have some tried-and-true techniques for preparing certain foods, which allows me to easily put a new twist on old favorites.
One such food is pizza. Once you have mastered the technique of rolling out the dough and baking it to crispy perfection, you have the ability to go hog-wild with just about any combination of toppings you desire.
I’ve compiled some tips for creating my idea of the perfect pizza, no pizza stone or homemade dough recipe necessary.
1. Start with good pre-made pizza dough. I swear by Whole Foods’ organic wheat pizza dough, which is available in the freezer section of most locations. It’s inexpensive, made with whole wheat flour, thaws beautifully, is easy to roll out and form, crisps up perfectly on the outside while remaining chewy on the inside, and tastes fantastic. Don’t have a Whole Foods around you? Trader Joe’s carries a variety of decent refrigerated pizza dough, and you can also check out your local pizza joint.
2. Bring the dough to room temperature before attempting to roll it out or form it. If you’ve every tried to roll out cold pizza dough, I’ll be willing to bet you became frustrated with the elasticity of the dough. I can just picture myself attacking the dough with a rolling pin, only to have it shrink right back to its original size. Allowing the dough to come to room temperature renders it much easier to work with.
3. Although pre-made dough can be fantastic, homemade sauce is almost always better than what is offered at the store (see below for my recipe).
4. Bake the pizza in a hot – but not too hot! - oven. I’ve made pizzas in a too-cool oven, which resulted in perfectly melted cheese but still partially raw dough; I’ve also burnt pizzas to a crisp in an oven set to too high a temperature. I’ve found the optimal oven temperature to be 450°F.
5. Another tip for actually baking the pizza: if you don’t have a pizza stone, (I don’t!), this technique is a practically fool-proof way of achieving a perfectly crisp crust. Bake the assembled pizza on a rimless baking sheet for 8 minutes, then carefully remove the baking sheet from under the pizza. Finish baking the pizza directly on the oven rack for about 2 additional minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Now, ovens vary – so you may need to adjust the times accordingly; but allowing the pizza to bake right on the rack for last few minutes gives it time to crisp on the bottom.
Here’s a recipe that I just posted on Healthy Food For Living; one that my husband and I are still talking about nearly a week later. This is a recipe that I might just have to make over and over again ;).
Individual Breakfast Pizzas
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
• 1 lb ball pizza dough, homemade or store-bought, preferably whole wheat (I used a defrosted ball of frozen Whole Foods organic wheat pizza dough)
• flour, for rolling out dough
• 1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 lb uncooked breakfast sausage (I used pork, but chicken or turkey sausage would be fine alternatives – just make sure you seek out uncooked sausage.)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated park-skim low moisture mozzarella cheese
• 4 large eggs, preferably organic
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions, green and white parts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Bring dough to room temperature. Divide into 4 equal portions (about 4 oz each).
Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface. Roll each ball of dough out to about 1/
4-inch thickness. Transfer to a rimless baking sheet. Brush olive oil evenly over rolled out dough rounds.
3. Heat a medium nonstick skillet oven medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage, and place sausage into the hot skillet. Cook, breaking up sausage with the back of a wooden spoon, until crumbled and browned, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over each pizza dough round. Top with crumbled sausage. Crack one egg on top of the sausage in the center of each pizza. Top with sliced green onions.
5. Bake pizzas at 450°F for 8 minutes. Carefully remove the baking sheet from underneath the pizzas, and continue to cook – directly on the oven rack – until the crusts are golden brown, the cheese is melted, and the eggs are set, about 2 additional minutes. Carefully remove pizza from oven with a pizza peel and let cool 2 minutes before serving.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
I’ve also decided to post my favorite marinara sauce recipe, which works perfectly for pizza.
Basic Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
• olive oil
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup red wine (optional)
• 1 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes plus their juices
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 rounded Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
1. Heat about 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onions and saute until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for about 1 hour.
4. Sample the sauce throughout the simmering time and adjust seasonings to taste.
5. Leave sauce chunky, or blend until smooth using an immersion blender (or regular blender).
We really enjoyed this pizza that had the unexpected flavor of goat cheese. Loaded with roasted vegetable flavor, and light in the cheese department it's a delightful change of pace. 
