Pizza Bianca
Try this simple recipe for a quick pizza dough and enjoy a Pizza Bianca= White Pizza with mushrooms, Artichokes, Arugula & Ricotta
The secret to a great marriage- make your own pizza
Want to know the secret to a great marriage?
It’s not separate bedrooms- it’s separate pizza crusts.
I love pizza- the stringy, gooey cheese, salty doughy crust, yummy toppings. But- I live with a man who loves nothing more than a simple thin crust pepperoni pizza- full of nitrates and fat. I love hunky hubby, but I prefer a sauceless pizza bianca filled with ricotta, herbs, greens, and tangy veggies like artichokes. So good.
But, I want a happy marriage and after 31 years- the secret is out. Make homemade pizza dough. I can have the thicker chewy dough and he can have wafer thin pizza loaded with all the pepperoni he wants.
Listen to my advice and save your marriage- make this pizza dough tonight!
Ingredients on Pizza Bianca:
For the Dough-
- water
- all purpose flour
- wheat or bread flour- I used Highland Harmony Bread Flour- Buy HERE
- dry active yeast
- sugar
- kosher salt
- olive oil
- semolina flour- for the pizza stone
Toppings– optional
- tomato sauce
- olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- ricotta cheese
- mozzarella
- arugula
- artichoke hearts
- onions
- mushrooms
- sun-dried tomatoes
- pesto
- burrata
- pepperoni
Equipment needed for a great pizza:
- pizza oven- We love our Gonzey oven. This is optional.
- large baking sheets or Pizza stone
- stand mixer with a dough hook
- glass measuring cup
- dry ingredient measuring cups
- Digital thermometer
- parchment paper
- pizza peel
- sharp knife
- oven thermometer
BAKING NOTES for a successful Pizza Bianca:
- You can store the risen dough in the fridge for 1-2 days . Lightly oil the dough and store in a plastic bag.
- Let the dough come to room temperature, proceed to step 7 above and roll into shape. Bake as instructed.
- Measure your flour correctly- spoon into a measuring cup and level off with a knife.
- If your water, yeast and sugar does not bubble- the yeast has not been activated. You may have expired yeast or the water was too hot.
- If you use a pizza stone, you do not need parchment paper- although is it a great way to roll out your dough and keeps it from sticking.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup wheat flour or bread flour
- 1 unit package dry active yeast 7g
- 1 TBSP granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more for the crust
- 2 TBSP olive oil divided.
Toppings
- 1 cup Parmesean cheese- grated
- 1 cup Arugula
- ½ cup Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 3 unit marinated artichoke hearts drained u0026 quartered
- Try other toppings- pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, halved cherry tomatoes, pesto, burrata etc.
Instructions
- Using a glass measuring cup, run hot tap water over and around the glass to heat it. Dry. Keep your measuring cup warm.
- Add 3/4 cup warm water– about 105- 110 degrees, yeast, and half of the sugar (1/2 TBSP) to the warm measuring cup. Mix with a small whisk to fully incorporate. Let rest for 5-7 minutes. You will see bubbles forming in the mixture and it will smell like dough.
- Combine the flour, remaining sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the dough hook. Pour in all of the bubbling yeast and sugar water mixture into to the flour. Mix the flour mixture on low speed for about 1 minute.
- Increase speed to medium. The dough will come together to form a ball. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. If the dough “climbs” up the dough hook, just scrape it down with your fingers.
- Lightly flour your counter or board and roll the dough into a ball. Knead the dough until it is smooth (like a baby’s bottom) and when you press down with your finger- the dough will spring back into shape. This takes about 3-5 minutes at most. Roll it back into shape of a ball.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm area for about an hour. The dough should double in size.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or place your baking stone in the oven to heat. If using a pizza oven, follow the manufacture’s instructions to heat the oven.
- Once the dough has doubled, Punch it down with your fist, divide it in half, and roll it into 2 circles. You can knead it for a few minutes if the texture is not smooth. Place each pizza dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Roll 1/4 ‘ or 1/2 u0022 of the edges up onto themselves to create a crust. Brush the dough edge of the circle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle the crust with about 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a bit of parmesan cheese.
- Top the pizza with the sauce and toppings you desire. Use ricotta sparingly and it can be very wet and can u0022sog outu0022 the crust.
- You can sprinkle on a few drizzles of olive oil, parmesan, and salt if desired.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes until the dough is browned to your liking.
- If you use a pizza stone- be certain to dust the stone with semolina or else the pizza will stick.
