Mexican Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza dough
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne
3 tbsp. chicken broth, veggie broth or water
3 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
3 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese
(I used cheddar jack instead of buying both kinds of cheese)
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup tomato, seeded and diced
1/3 cup corn (fresh or frozen-I prefer less than 1/3 cup)
3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
To make the pizza, preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round. Lightly brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.

Combine the black beans, cumin, paprika and cayenne in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until ground into a paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the processor running, add the chicken broth through the feed tube until a smooth mixture is formed. Spread the bean puree onto the shaped pizza crust in an even layer (I used about ¾ of the puree). Layer evenly with the cheddar and Monterey jack cheese. Sprinkle the jalapeño, red onion, tomato, corn and cilantro over the cheese layer. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Basic Pizza Dough
Yield: enough dough for 2 medium pizzas or 4 calzones

Ingredients:
½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.) Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Little Caesars Pizza Dough

http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/

1 1/4 cups (9.7 oz) warm water (appox. 120° F)
2 3/4 tsp. dry active yeast
2 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP Olive Oil
2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) bread flour or all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) whole wheat flour (optional, can use 100% bread flour or all purpose flour)

Mix water and yeast in mixing bowl and allow it to proof for 5 minutes. Mix in sugar, honey and oil. Then mix in 1 cup flour and the salt. Continue mixing in all the remaining flour until you get a nice, soft dough. Knead until dough is soft and smooth (approx. 10 minutes).

Finish kneading on a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Place in the refrigerator in a covered container coated with olive oil for overnight. For the perfect flavor, it is best to time making the dough 24 hours before baking the pizza's (for pizza Saturday at 5pm, make your dough Friday at 5pm). If you are short on time you can sacrifice some flavor and make this dough first thing in the morning and place it in the fridge until dinner that evening.

3 hours before baking: Remove from fridge and either divide dough in half for two 12” pizzas or leave whole for one somewhat thicker 16” pizza. Work each piece of dough into balls. Allow the dough to come back to room temperature (this process generally takes 3 hours).

45 minutes before baking: With your pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven, preheat your oven to 475° F to allow the stone to get hot enough (this process generally takes 40-50 minutes).

15 minutes before baking: Shape dough into desired pizza crust, sprinkle pizza peel, wooden cutting board or upside down cookie sheet with corn meal, flour or rice flour. Place pizza crust on top, then add toppings. Gently slide pizza onto the hot pizza stone and bake for 9-11 minutes.

*****
I’ve spent some time on the Pizzamaking forum where there are several dozen amazing chef’s who have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time perfecting pizza making at home. Some of their doughs take up to 7 days to make with a huge focus on temperature control and top quality ingredients. They are inspiring!

This recipe is from their site but is simple to use, forgiving and only takes a day to make without sacrificing on the flavor. It was designed to mimic the flavor of Little Caesars pizza using the same processing time as the restaurant along with the same cornerstone ingredients.

After trying this recipe, we no longer crave takeout pizza- this is SO much better (at least we think so)! Yeah!!!

I think the two secrets to great homemade pizza are finding the right dough and baking it on a hot stone (Fibrament sells a great stone with an outstanding reputation and a 10 year warranty against cracking). The benefit of baking it on a hot stone is it duplicates the professional brick ovens. The ceramic stone creates a light crispy crust by absorbing excess moisture and distributing the heat evenly and efficiently. The results are night and day compared to baking a pizza on a cookie sheet or cold stone. Give it a try, you’ll love it!

Thanks to Randy at the Pizzamaking forum for providing this excellent recipe!

Mexican Pizza
Ingredients

1 tortilla(s), whole-wheat, low carb, 6 1/2-inch
3 ounce(s) chicken, breast, oven roasted, skinless
1/4 cup(s) salsa, mild
1/2 cup(s) pepper(s), red, bell, chopped
2 tablespoon pepper(s), green chile, diced
1 cup(s) spinach
2 tablespoon cheese, mozzarella, shredded, low sodium
1/4 cup(s) avocado, sliced
Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray pan with non-stick spray. Heat over medium heat. Add bell pepper, green chiles and spinach to pan. Cook until spinach is wilted.
Spread salsa on tortilla and top with chicken and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts. Top with avocado slices.

Nutrition Facts
Number of Servings: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 364
Total Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 80 mg
Sodium: 714 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 35 g
Dietary Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 37 g

Blackened Chicken Pizza with Yellow Tomato Salsa

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Prep Time:12 min Cook Time:18 min
Serves:3 servings

•1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Grill Seasoning) or other seasoning blend
•1 teaspoon sweet paprika – eyeball it
•1 teaspoon chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon dried cayenne pepper
•3/4 pound thin cut chicken breast
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 turn of the pan
•All-purpose flour or cornmeal, a couple of tablespoons to work dough
•1 pizza dough
•1/2 pound brick reduced fat Cheddar with jalapeno or chipotle pepper (recommended: Cabot brand)
•2 small yellow tomatoes, seeded and chopped
•1/4 cup chopped red onion
•1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
•2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, optional
•2 tablespoons thyme leaves
•1 clove garlic
•Coarse salt
•1/2 lime, zested and juiced
Directions
Preheat a large heavy skillet over very high heat. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine grill seasoning, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper on a plate. Press thin cut chicken into seasoning on 1 side. Add oil to screaming hot pan and cook chicken 2 minutes on each side.

Spread out a little flour or cornmeal and stretch out pizza dough onto a pizza pan. Shred reduced fat cheese.

Remove chicken from pan and chop. Combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and thyme. Make garlic paste by chopping garlic then mashing it with the flat of your knife and a generous pinch of coarse salt. Add paste to salsa. Add zest and juice of 1/2 lime and mix salsa thoroughly. Scatter chicken, salsa and cheese over pizza dough working to the edges of both pies. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until crisp and bubbly-brown on top.

Pizza Hut Thin Crust Pizza Dough

The crust for this Pizza Hut classic has to be made ahead of time, and is easily enough for at least two 16-inch pizzas, or more depending on how thin you roll the dough.

Ingredients
2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon yeast (proofed in water)
4 cup flour
3 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup cake flour
2 teaspoon salt

1.Combine all ingredients in a mixer and knead for 10 minutes. Place in large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to ferment as long as possible (12-24 hours). Punch down dough now and then when you get the chance.

2.Preheat oven to 550 degrees F.

3.Roll the dough as thin as desired. (roll, flour and flip, until you end up with a shape equal to 90% the size of your pan, as it will stretch when you transfer the dough. (make sure you oil your pan)

4.For regular pizza, add your toppings and bake for 10 minutes. However, since this particular recipe was meant for light toppings, you'll need to oil the crust, then prick it with a fork and pre-bake for 3 minutes. Now remove from oven, add your favorite toppings and return to oven for 10-15 minutes or till cheese is bubbly and outer edge of crust is a light golden brown.

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: 1. Preheat oven to 475F 2. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. 3. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. 4. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) 5. Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese 6. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.

Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza Crust

Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza Crust

Ingredients
1 1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cup flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for dough)
9 ounce vegetable oil (3 ounces per pan)
Butter flavored Pam

1.Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 quart.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes.

2.Divide dough into three balls. In three 9-inch cake pans, put 3 ounces of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9-inch circle. Place in cake pans.

3.Spray the outer edge of dough with Pam. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: 1. Preheat oven to 475F 2. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. 3. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. 4. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) 5. Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese 6. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.