3-Cheese Pizza with Quick and Easy Dough

We interrupt this slew of decadent desserts to bring you PIZZA!

I eat pizza very rarely, mostly because it's nearly impossible to find commercial pizza that can pass the napkin test.
You know, when you put the napkin on top of a slice of pizza and it instantly becomes saturated with grease?  Massive FAIL of the napkin test.  And definitely not helpful when it comes to having flat abs.

If regular pizza was like this stuff, though, I'd eat it all the time.
Which means I need a very large stock of yeast at school so I can eat it all the time.

See, this is homemade pizza.  Otherwise known as the best thing ever.

I found the dough recipe on My Baking Addiction, which is one of my favorite blogs.  Mostly for the cupcake recipes I drool over on a regular basis.  However, I found Jamie's recipe for No-Knead Pizza Dough and instantly got excited.  I will take quick easy recipes any day! 

And this did not disappoint.

I slightly modified the recipe by substituting half of the all-purpose flour for white whole wheat - might as well get some whole grains, right?  The light wheat flavor was hearty and delicious, and the white whole wheat flour didn't mess with the texture.  YAY!  But I'm sure the original version is insanely good too.

The last time I made this dough recipe, it got me three calzones, a large thin-crust pizza, and another pizza-sized ball of dough for the freezer.  The thin crust pizza was delicious, flavorful and crispy - my roommates and Jon, my fiancé, loved it.  But, I'm a sucker for thick crust, so I divided the dough into three equal-ish pieces and used two of the three to make two deliciously doughy pizzas.  I topped them with tomato-basil sauce (store-bought - I ran out of time, but I got the good stuff!), Italian-seasoned turkey sausage, spinach, cremini mushrooms, and ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses.  And fresh basil.
And then I ate them and did my happy dance.

Whatever you top these pizzas with, they will be incredible.  I highly suggest using multiple cheeses.  Because cheese is awesome.

Simple No-Knead Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Source: adapted from My Baking Addiction, originally from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (recommended: King Arthur)
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 3/4 cups lukewarm water


Directions:
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon (I imagine a large food processor with a dough blade would work too) mix together the yeast, salt, sugar, oil, and water.  Mix in the flour without kneading, mixing until the dough has formed a ball.  If you're not using a mixer you may need to use your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
Transfer the dough into a large (5-quart) lightly-oiled bowl or lidded container.  Cover it with a tea towel and set it aside at room temperature until the dough has risen and collapsed in the middle - about two hours.
The dough can be used immediately after the first rise, but it's easier to handle when cold.  Refrigerate in a non-airtight lidded container for up to 12 days.


3-Cheese Pizza
Source: Dancer Bakes original.  Assemble to taste.

1/3 recipe Simple No-Knead Pizza Dough
Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
Prepared tomato sauce
Chopped or torn baby spinach leaves, stems removed
Sliced cremini mushrooms
Turkey Italian sausage, cases removed and browned
Part-skim ricotta cheese
Low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella, shredded
Grated parmesan


Preheat oven to 450˚F.
Roll dough out to fit your pizza pan or baking sheet.  Sprinkle the pan with cornmeal and transfer the dough to the pan.  Roll the edges of the crust under to form puffy distinct edges.  Spread sauce on top of the dough in a thin but even layer, stopping about 1/4 inch from the rolled-under edges.  Top with crumbles of turkey sausage, spinach leaves, sliced mushrooms, and dollops of ricotta.  Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella and parmesan.
Transfer to the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is all melted and gooey.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  Enjoy!