4 Cups bread flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 Tablespoons Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water
Flour for dusting the pizza peel or baking sheet.
Olive oil for rising the dough.
Pizza:
4 large potatoes (enough mashed potatoes for 2 pizzas)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2-1 cup milk or cream
3 Tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces of bacon, crumbled
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
1 pound Brussels Sprouts
It’s best to make the dough a day in advance. Start by combining the yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, and water in a bowl. Add your flour and bring all of the dough into a ball. When it looks like the below you can start kneading it. If you have a fancy mixer you can beat it with the dough hook attachment for 10 minutes and save yourself a workout. To knead by hand, scoop dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 15 minutes until dough is very smooth. Pour a bit of olive oil in your bowl and lightly coat your ball of dough. This will make sure it doesn’t dry out. Let it rise at room temperature for two hours. After the rise, you can punch it down and cut it into two balls. If you must, you can use them right away, but they will be much better if you let them chill in the fridge for at least a day. They can keep for a few days though if you coat them in a bit of olive oil. If you do put them in the fridge, let them rise at room temperature for an hour before using them. For the toppings, cut up the potatoes into cubes and boil them in lightly salted water for about 10 minutes until they fall apart when poked with a fork. Then mash them up with the garlic, cream or milk, and butter. I actually like mine a bit on the chunky side. It gives the pizza a good texture. Cook bacon until crispy in a skillet which will take 10-15 minutes. You can also bake the bacon in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone in it. To form a pizza, take a ball and roll it out into a circle. With light pressure start working it from the inside out. Once you feel comfortable feel free to pick it up and stretch it over your knuckles a bit. It shouldn’t rip if you keep it moving by lightly rotating it around your hand. If you are feeling brave, you can give it a toss! Once you have a rough circle that is the size you want and the thickness that you want, slap it on a pizza peel that has been dusted with corn meal or flour. If you don’t have a peel, you can use a baking sheet. The sheet just makes it a bit harder to slide it into the oven. Feel free to make a decorative crust or just leave it flat. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil over your dough. Since we aren’t using a sauce, we need to add a bit of moisture on the bottom. Then lump on your mashed potatoes. Don’t be stingy. This is the base of the pie. Next, add cheese, bacon, sprouts (sliced thin and tossed with bacon grease), and a pinch of pepper and salt. Carefully slide the pizza into the oven. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Take out your pizza and the crust should be crispy and great. The cheese should be lightly browned. Wait a few minutes, slice, and eat a piece right away.