One half of this homemade pizza is vegetarian and the other is completely non-vegetarian chicken bbq. I love this pizza crust recipe because it's fast and easy and does not require any sort of kitchen machinery besides good old-fashioned elbow grease.
Mr. Organic is not really a meat eater anymore, so I have been trying my hand at more vegetarian fair. Even though I really like my chicken bbq pizza, this veggie pizza just may replace it as my favorite. The kids however, are content to stick with pepperoni or cheese.
Troy's Pizza Dough
In a bowl, mix 1 Tbsp. yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 1/2 c very warm water; stir a little and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the following ingredients, mixing well:
1 c. wheat flour (I used kamut flour)
2 3/4 c. white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
I like to knead it a little to make sure all the flour is mixed in and then put it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours (if you are in a hurry - as I was - you can stick it in an oven that has been heated to 150 degrees and then been turned off for about 20-30 minutes).
Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a floured or lightly oiled counter, and knead a couple of times. Divide the dough in half, roll out, and place on a baking pan that has been dusted with cormeal. For the veggie pizza, I spread a little Contadina pizza sauce and then sprinkled mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, grape tomato halves, and slices of yellow bell pepper, zucchini, and mushroom. For the bbq pizza, I cooked the chicken with some pressed garlic, bbq sauce and a splash of pineapple juice. I spread the dough with bbq sauce, cheese, chicken, and pineapple. I topped the whole thing with a little more mozzarella and fresh, grated parmesan cheese.
This next part sounds a bit strange, but put the pizza in the oven on the very bottom rack, and then turn the oven on to bake at 500 and set your timer for 18 minutes (check it at 15 minutes). By the time your oven gets up to 500 degrees, your pizza will be done.
Sorry, the pictures of the finished pizza did not turn out because I was shaking and drooling with anticipation or something like that, yah? Suffice it to say that the veggie pizza is the best thing I've tasted since our trip to San Francisco.
