Traditional Florentine Pizza Crust Recipes

Steps:

• To prepare the pizza, preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/fan 180C. Put the pizza base on a baking sheet and spread with the sauce.
• To cook the spinach, put it in a microwavable bowl, cover with cling film and pierce it a couple of times. Put in the microwave on High (850W) for 2 minutes until wilted (or cook in a covered pan for 2-3 minutes). Drain and spread the spinach over the pizza base, then get the mushrooms out of the jar with a fork and scatter them over the top. Season and sprinkle with half the parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Make four dips in the spinach with the back of a spoon, and crack an egg into each. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for a further 6- 8 minutes, until the eggs are just set.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and, if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together Italian seasoning and garlic powder; toss with chicken. Spread ricotta cheese on pizza crust. Top with chicken, spinach and tomatoes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix the water with the sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until dissolved and the yeast starts to bubble.
• Add the salt, olive oil and 1 cup of the flour and mix well.
• Add 2 more cups of flour, dough should be still a little sticky but should be able to form a ball.
• Turn out onto floured surface and start to knead, adding a little bit of flour as needed, until your dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Form a fall, place into an oiled bowl and cover with a cloth napkin. Let dough rise for 45 minutes. Punch down and divide in half.
• Preheat oven to 400°F If using a pizza stone, be sure to put the stone in the oven while it heats up.
• If using a baking pizza pan, lightly oil your baking pizza pan. Otherwise, shape pizza on a lightly floured surface. With your hands, press on the dough to spread it out to about 1/2 cm high (very thin). Top pizza with toppings of your choice. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. If using a pizza stone, transfer to pizza stone.
• Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pizza before placing into the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes if using a pizza pan, 8-5 minutes if using a pizza stone, or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• For the alfredo sauce.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add the minced garlic and saute for a minute.
• Add in flour and stir until it is evenly incorporated with the butter making a loose paste.
• Add in the half and half cream. Bring to a simmer over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened. Do not allow the sauce to boil.
• Simmer for minute or so over low heat stirring continuously until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Mix in the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses stirring constantly to melt them evenly. Be sure to reserve the remaining mozzarella for the topping.
• Season with white pepper to taste.
• For the spinach topping.
• Squeeze as much of the water from the spinach as possible.
• Puree the pesto sauce and spinach together in a food processor until the pesto and spinach are combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the food processor with a rubber spatula to ensure all the pesto is incorporated. The final product should be a paste that will hold a shape.
• Place the prepared pizza dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet or pizza stone.
• Spread the alfredo sauce evenly over the pizza dough.
• Spread the spinach/pesto mixture over the alfredo sauce.
• Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is bubbly.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it's smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour. This is a good time to stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat them to 500 degrees F.
• Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.
• Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix salt and garlic powder together in a small bowl.
• Combine spinach and water in a microwave steamer. Microwave on high for 60 seconds. Drain spinach, then squeeze out any excess water.
• Roll pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14-inch circle.
• Pour oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Sprinkle 1/2 of the garlic salt over the bottom of the skillet. Place dough into the skillet and shape crust so edges come up the sides of the skillet. Prick holes in the bottom of the dough with a fork.
• Spread pizza sauce over the dough. Sprinkle 1/2 of the Italian cheese over the sauce. Add spinach, chicken, then sun-dried tomatoes. Top with remaining cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven. Run butter along the edges of the crust, then sprinkle the remaining garlic salt over the melted butter. Bake for 5 more minutes.
• Transfer pizza to a pizza peel and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.