A little too crazy for you? Try these instead.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

 

A chewy pizza crust that can be made quickly with just basic pantry ingredients for when you are in a hurry. Makes 1 lb of pizza dough.

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan and spread it to the edges or shape it into a 12-14 inch round and place on a baker’s peel dusted with cornmeal. Add toppings and transfer to a preheated pizza stone.

Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients

• 2 pounds store-bought or homemade pizza dough
• 1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers from a jar, sliced
• 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large onions (about 4 pounds in all), cut into thin slices
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces Italian fontina, sliced thin
• 6 ounces Roquefort or other blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oven to 425°F. Oil two 12-inch pizza pans or large baking sheets. Press the dough into a 12-inch round or a 9-by-13-inch rectangle, on each prepared pan. Bake until the dough, without the toppings, begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the red peppers.

Divide the onion mixture between the 2  baked pizzas crusts. Top each with half of the fontina, Roquefort and Parmesan.

Bake the pizzas until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

Meat Lovers’ Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough, fresh or frozen (thawed) at room temperature
• 3/4 cups marinara sauce
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 ounces pepperoni, sliced
• 3 strips bacon

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Oil a pizza pan.

Stretch dough round into small circle. Place on the pizza pan, stretching and pressing to form a 14-inch circle. Spread sauce on dough; top with mozzarella in single layer.

In a skillet cook bacon. Drain and set aside. Add sausage and saute until no longer pink. Add mushrooms and pepper slices and saute until tender.

Top pizza with the vegetable mixture, pepperoni and crumbled cooked bacon.

Bake 20 to 22 minutes.

Chicago Deep-Dish-Style Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound fresh or frozen (thawed and at room temperature) pizza dough
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, each cut in half
• 1 can (14- to 14.5-ounce) chopped tomatoes with garlic and basil, drained
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Coat a 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet with oil.

Pat dough into a 14-inch round  on a floured board and carefully transfer dough to the skillet. Carefully flip dough once, so both sides are evenly coated with oil. Gently press the edges of the dough up the side of the skillet.

Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the dough; top with broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, olives, tomatoes and Pecorino. Bake pizza 25 minutes or until the dough is puffed and golden brown. Cut pizza into slices to serve.

Roasted Chicken and Leek Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 large leeks, white and tender green portions only, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick and separated into rings
• 2 cups shredded skinless roasted chicken
• 1/2 pound Italian Fontina cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 1/3 cup oil-cured olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound pizza dough, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Generously oil a pizza pan.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat until just softened but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the chicken, half of the Fontina, the olives and season with salt and pepper.

Stretch the dough to the edges of the pizza pan. Spread the chicken and leek mixture on the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border of dough. Brush the border with olive oil. Sprinkle the remaining Fontina over the top and season with pepper.

Bake 16 -20  minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Transfer the pizza to a rack and let cool slightly before cutting.

Squid Pizza with Saffron Aioli

Ingredients

• Large pinch of saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 6 ounces cleaned squid—tentacles halved, bodies sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
• Freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 8 ounces pizza dough
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 large plum tomato, diced
• 1 teaspoon chopped marjoram
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Preheat a pizza stone.

In a small bowl, crumble the saffron into the water; let steep for 5 minutes. In a blender or bowl, beat the egg yolk with the garlic and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice. Gradually add the 3/4 cup of olive oil, beating constantly, until very thick. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and the saffron water and season the aioli with salt and cayenne.

In a skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the squid, season with salt and black pepper and cook over high heat until just starting to whiten, 30 seconds. Do not overcook. Transfer to a plate.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough to a 12-inch round, 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the round to a lightly floured pizza peel.

Leaving a 1/2-inch border of dough, brush the round with olive oil and sprinkle with crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper.

Scatter the onion slices over the round and top with the squid, tomato and marjoram.

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for about 5 minutes, until the bottom is crisp.

Transfer the pizza to a work surface and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the aioli. Serve aioli with the pizza or reserve the remaining aioli for another use. Garnish the pizza with the parsley, cut into wedges and serve.

Posted by Jovina Coughlin in Cheese, Chicken, Healthy Italian Cooking, Pizza, pizza dough, Sausage, squid, Vegetables Tags: new ideas for pizza, pizza dough