Pizza is the perfect summer food, especially when you add feta, balsamic vinaigrette, whole tomato slices and fresh greens. It's perfect for a back yard gathering or picnic or anytime really. Paired with a glass of wine... are you salivating yet? I am!
This pizza is bubbly, creamy, crispy, and soooo good really. I didn't want the flavors to get too intense or savory (although it's still pretty savory on it's own) so I chose to omit garlic (which I normally incorporate onto my pizzas. But that said, you totally can if you're a garlic lover. It will taste sooo yummy. I just chose not to for this recipe because I wanted to keep the flavors more light.
If you're willing to put in the work to make the pizza dough and wait at least 24 hours, you will have a nice bubbly pizza crust. It's worth the wait, trust me.
Scroll down for the recipe.
Forgot to drizzle onto pizza for the pictures. But this will add a hint of sweetness and even more summery yummyness. Highly recommend.
After 24 hour ferment at room temp. Lots of bubbles
Check for springyness. This amount is ok. More is even better.
Pre-bake for 2 mins to easier spread the cream cheese (sorry for the ugly pictures. These were just casually taken on the cell phone)
Dough Prep Time: 24-72 hours
Pizza Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 6-8 minutes
Yields: 1 pizza (about 10-12" approx) or 2 moderate servings
RECOMMENDED TOOLS:
A pizza steel or stone will help you achieve better results. It will help with crisping the pizza bottom and achieving a more bubbly crust . A pizza oven will be even better. You can also put a steel or stone onto a bbq grill and close the lid when cooking. That said, you can still enjoy pizza without these tools. This recipe was made with a home oven at 550 degrees and baked on a pizza steel for 7 total minutes.
Pizza peel for easier handling and to prevent burning yourself from the hot oven
Cooling Rack
Pizza Cutter
Dough Scraper
PIZZA TOPPINGS:
Tomato Sauce seasoned to your liking (I used the pizza sauce from Trader Joe's)
Miyoko's Cream Cheese
Shredded Vegan Mozzarella of your choice (I used Trader Joe's Brand)
Vegan Feta Cheese (see my homemade feta recipe here https://www.jengostudio.com/post/easy-vegan-feta-cheese
Vegan ham (Tofurky or other brand)
A few slices of heirloom tomatoes
Arugula or mixed greens of choice
Olive Tapenade from Trader Joe's refrigerated section
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinaigrette glaze from Trader Joe's
PIZZA DOUGH : (recipe adapted from Marc Vetri)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp water (add slightly more water in 1/4 tsp increments if you want a more hydrated dough but no more than a 3/8 or scant 1/2 cup, especially if you have an electric oven that only reaches up to 475 degrees and requires longer cooking time. The dough will dry out more)
1/8 tsp instant yeast
Olive oil for coating the dough -- not absolutely required but will help dough from drying out.
INSTRUCTIONS: (for dough prep)
Mix a portion of the water and yeast together first and set aside to allow yeast to activate
Combine flour, yeast, salt and water (if you're worried about the salt killing the yeast you can add 1/3 of the flour and water with yeast first as a buffer before adding the salt but I've personally never had a problem)
Set aside for 20 minutes and knead for 6-10 minutes into a ball. Kneading isn't necessary as the gluten will develop regardless over the long fermentation time but it does help to strengthen the gluten networks even more.
Oil it and leave it covered at room temperate for 6 hours before refrigeration (refrigeration and slow cold ferment helps dough be more flavorful and complex). Or you can leave it out (covered) on the counter or inside a turned off oven for 24 hours before baking or refrigerating. You can ferment up to 72 hours if you want a more airy and bubbly crust. It's summer where I am and I just left my dough to ferment at room temp for 24 hours. It was plenty bubbly.
If refrigerated let dough reach room temperature for several hours before using.
INTRUCTIONS FOR PIZZA:
Pre-heat oven to the hottest temperature (500-550) or hotter.
Flour a work surface and work dough into a ball. If it's ripping or too wet, add a little bit of flour and knead it a bit. Check for springyness. See video above as reference. Let it sit on top of the pre-heating oven while you go and prep the pizza toppings.
Slice the tomatoes and the vegan ham. Set aside. And get all the other ingredients out as well.
Once the oven is almost ready take the dough out and shape it into whatever shape you like. If you've never done this before, just youtube it. Make sure to flour as needed when you're working so prevent the dough from sticking.
Bake the pizza crust for 2 minutes or (a few minutes longer if not using a steel or stone) and remove from oven.
Then spread a thin layer of cream cheese, then a thin layer of tomato sauce, then vegan mozzarella, and vegan ham and olives.
Bake for 5-6 more minutes or until nice color is achieved on crust. If not using a stone or steel you may need to bake your pizza for up to 15 minutes. Just monitor the baking progress.
Finally, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for a few minutes.
Top with greens and drizzle olive oil and vinaigrette glaze.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Snap a pic for the gram and tag me @jengo.daily or #jengo.daily. I would love to see your creations! Thanks for visiting. See you next time!
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