We’re on a tear with handmade pizza lately, never mind that peak tomatoes and basil are a solid five months hence, and let’s not talk of when the season arrives in more favorably disposed locales. Who knew how simple and delicious this stuff could be? Right now the go-to toppings are sausage, mushrooms, flat-leaf parsley, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and various and desultory cheeses. The best part of all is the crust, made from artisan bread dough that we keep going in the fridge.
More recently I’ve been craving the simplest of preparations: onions caramelized with chopped rosemary then sprinkled with big dollops of goat cheese on a thin wheat crust. To satisfy carnivorous urges, add sausage or chopped pancetta. The recipe:
Recipe: Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Rosemary, and Goat Cheese
½ onion, sliced thinly / 1 sprig rosemary, chopped /a big handful of artisan bread dough / 2 tbls olive oil / 1 clove garlic, minced / ½ cup or more goat cheese, crumbled / grated parmesan cheese / salt & pepper
Place baking stone in oven and turn on to 500 degrees. On the stovetop, heat a heavy pan on medium-high then add vegetable oil and swirl to coat pan. Add onions and rosemary and stir a few times. Turn heat down to low. Cover and cook down until caramelized, about 20 minutes, stirring now and then so the onions don’t burn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When the onions are done, flour a large cutting board generously. Sprinkle more flour on the dough and form it as though you were shaping a loaf of bread, pulling ends around the bottom as described in the artisan bread recipe. Flatten to the desired thinness with a rolling pin. Ensure there is adequate flour under the dough so that it slides easily off the board (it may seem like too much flour, but it’s not). Smear olive oil on dough, covering surface. Sprinkle on garlic, onions, and goat and parmesan cheeses plus salt and pepper, then quickly slide pizza onto baking stone. Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on thickness of dough. Remove when cheese is just starting to brown. Feeds 2.
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March 31, 2008 at 5:08 am
valereee
Audrey, I’ve tried the 5-minute dough. I found it worked well for me for rolls, but not for loaves, for whatever reason. I may have to try their pizza dough, though — maybe I’ll have better luck!
March 31, 2008 at 8:03 am
audrey
Good to know about the rolls, I will have to try those. My problem with the original 5-minute dough recipe was loaves with too-dense centers. I now use a compromise between Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread recipe which has an overnight rise, giving the bread better structure, and the refrigerator storage of 5-minute dough which seems to add flavor (see the prior artisan bread post). I find that this compromise dough is ideal on days 3-6 at least for breads we’ve tried thus far. I have been reading about levain breads and “mothers”. These sound more complex, but not dissimilar in concept.
Previously we got our best loaves in the heat of the summer. The above measures seems to work in place of consistently warm temps.
I’ll look forward to hearing about your results if you opt to experiment.
November 11, 2008 at 2:28 pm
pizza! « Eat Local Northwest
[...] out a prior recipe for pizza with caramelized onions, rosemary, and goat cheese, an equally delicious if slightly more labor-intensive pizza that’s great as an appetizer or [...]