Garlic Lover’s Pizza

Last month for Secret Recipe Club, you may recall me resisting the urge to make a recipe from my assigned blog last month that was actually from another SRC member. As luck would have it, I am assigned to that other blog this month – Kudo’s Kitchen! Although it obviously has been featured on another SRC reveal day in the past, I thought it was worthy of a repeat.

This recipe makes one large pizza, but you could easily make two medium ones and is what I would have done if I had used my pizza stone (since it’s smaller than my pizza pan). Either way, this pizza is a garlic lover’s dream. Both the crust and the toppings are bursting with garlic, so vampires beware. I personally love garlic so I used 8 cloves in the toppings instead of the indicated 5 in the recipe. Who says garlic breath is a bad thing?

Two years ago: “Creamed” Berry Cheese Spread

GARLIC LOVER’S PIZZA

Serves 4

Ingredients:

CRUST

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup beef stock

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1-1/2 Tbsp dried minced onion

3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried basil (I used 2 Tbsp fresh, minced)

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme (I used 1 Tbsp fresh, minced)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

TOPPINGS

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5 (or more) freshly grated garlic cloves

4 red ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4″ thickness

1 log (16 oz.) fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4″ thickness

Fresh or dried basil and oregano, to taste

Directions:

1. Over low heat in a small saucepan, heat the water, stock, butter, and onions until the butter is just melted. Allow to cool slightly so that you can comfortably stick your finger in and not be burned.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients, starting with only 3-1/2 cups of flour.  More may be necessary later.
3. Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix until moistened.  Stir in enough remaining flour (if needed) to form a soft but not sticky dough.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.  When dough has fully risen, punch down and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. After the dough has risen, add approximately 1 tablespoon cornmeal to the surface of your pizza pan.  Using your fingertips, spread the dough out to fit the size of the pan (I used a large 16-inch pizza pan), pinching the edges to form a crust.
7. Pre-bake the crust for approximately 15 minutes.
8. After the initial pre-baking, take the crust from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Using your fingertips, lightly dimple the top of the crust to form little wells.
9. Using a pastry brush, and being liberal, gently brush the olive oil on top of the crust.  Next, sprinkle garlic over the crust. Then arrange tomatoes on top of your crust making sure to cover as much or surface area as possible.
10. Next, layer on the fresh mozzarella cheese however you choose and sprinkle the top with additional basil and oregano.
11. Increase your oven temperature to 400 degrees and slip your pizza into the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Source: Kudo’s Kitchen