I love making pizza. It is so easy to make from scratch and the combinations are endless, so you can always use up whatever is in your refrigerator. The key to a good pizza is in the crust. And the key to a good crust is in the yeast.
Yeast is a single celled fungus that has been used for thousands of years as a leavening and fermenting agent. It feeds off of sugars and creates carbon dioxide and alcohol as waste. When you let bread dough rise the waste builds up creating more and more alcohol. Which gives it that very unique bread taste. The longer the bread is allowed to rise the more flavorful it becomes. But, the yeast produces less and less carbon dioxide, so after you punch it down the bread may not rise all the way again (more about yeast as a leavening agent later). It is a bit of a trade off in bread making so watch that dough! Pizza dough, on the other hand, doesn't really need to rise all that much. The flavor is all that matters, so you can just let it set for days in your refrigerator and let the yeast just do it's thing.
Yeast is very important in biochemistry and biology. Because it is a simple single celled organism it is very easy to study how proteins and enzymes work, and is a model for the study of larger organisms.
This is my favorite pizza. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet and it just makes me happy. I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman (if you haven't checked her out you need to, she is a down home kitchen goddess, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking) and she has never steered me wrong. Other fabulous combinations I've tried are roasted tomato and eggplant, BBQ chicken, and tomato basil, but you can let your imagination run wild. This crust lends itself to anything and everything.
Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza
Pizza Crust
Ingredients
1 teaspoon instant or dry active yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 olive oil
Sprinkle yeast over 1-1/2 cups warm water. Let stand for a few minutes.Combine the flour and salt. Drizzle in olive oil and mix well. Pour in water/yeast mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. Coat a separate bowl with olive oil. Place dough in and roll to coat (this keeps the dough from sticking to anything and from drying out). Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 24-48 hours.* Makes 2 crusts. Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil. Take half the dough and stretch as thinly as possible onto the baking sheet.
*The other option is to let the dough rise in a warm place for a couple of hours and after it's allowed to rise either using immediately or placing in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Pizza Toppings/Assembly
Ingredients
1 pizza crust
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 lb prosciutto
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add onion and cook until very soft and browned. Slice mozzarella and place on pizza crust. Add caramelized onions. Add prosciutto. Grate parmesan cheese all over. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Enjoy!!!
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