Pizza Redux.

I made this meal several weeks ago, right after Mr. Hawthorne and I got back from our Virginia visit. He had dropped me off in Danville at Maxine's and I made this pizza for Maxine and Carmen. When Mr. Hawthorne read my post about our pizza, he wanted one too. As luck would have it, or rather, as Rosie had planned it, I had brought back half of the dough I'd made at Maxine's.

Ta daaa! Here it is trying to escape the confines of the plastic wrap.

I let it come to room temperature then added a light sprinkling of flour and worked with it for a few minutes. Then I covered it and let rise.

Three to four day old dough ain't gonna rise like fresh dough, but it will still be good. Notice the nice bubbles. I punched this dough down ...

... and slapped it on a greased pan.

Start in the center and press outwards evenly. Let the dough rest for a few minutes. Come back ...

... and press out some more. Let it rest. Resume.

You may need to lightly sprinkle some flour over top so you can press a bit more.

Wallah!

Sliced some shrooms ...

... into a pan of LOLUB and ELBOO.

Sear 'em.

Little zuke and squash.

Slice 'em.

I had some red, orange, yellow, and green peppers and some red onion.

Chop everything up.

I half-steamed some broccoli florets.

I liked this shot of the sliced squash and zucchini.

And I liked this one of the confetti peppers and the red onion slices.

Fresh basil is excellent.

I poured a little ELBOO on my crust. I was heating my oven to 425 degrees and when it got to 390 (I was in a hurry.) I stuck the dough in for about 4 - 5 minutes.

Forgot to prick it but I like the bubbles.

I'm liking the landscape of this dough. It's thin and crispy and bumpy.

A little pancetta in the pan to crisp up.

I sliced some tomatoes and salted and peppered.

First I sprinkled an Italian blend of cheeses over the crust.

Then I dotted the pizza with pesto. I also steamed a pound of spinach and ended up with little to nothing after I squeezed all the water out of it. Be sure you squeeze the water out. Don't want a soggy crust.

Chop up the spinach and ...

... plop on pizza.

Tomatoes go on.

Confetti peppers going on.

I was doing just fine by myself, thank you very much. I was on a pizza roll. Then the inevitable happened ... ... the inevitable being Mr. Hawthorne. All of a sudden, his hand took over my entire screen as I was placing a squash slice. He had to step in and help. I'm surprised I got as far as I did.

Squash, zucchini, and red onions going on.

Yes, I'm using shredded cheeses. I refuse to call them pre-shredded . A pre-shredded cheese, to me, is the whole block of cheese. I don't pre-heat my ovens either. I heat them too.

Mr. Hawthorne deals out red onions.

Mushrooms, broccoli, pancetta, and cheeses waiting to be added.

Go, Mr. Hawthorne!

I used a whole pack of Chevrion goat cheese.

Chiffonade the basil and add to pizza.

As much crumbled feta as you want.

Some queso.

Sprinkle a cheddar blend over top.

Giada is interested in this process.

Ready for 425 degree oven.

About 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Watch it. Let the cheese melt and slightly brown if you like.

I wish it were daylight so you could get the full effect of these slices. They were lovely.

The crust was just what I wanted. Since this dough had been "waiting" a few days, it was very thin and very crisp. It was the perfect texture to hold up to the onslaught of vegetables and cheeses. Bottom line: This is one of my all-time favorite pizzas. Mr. Hawthorne's comments: "This is not a pizza. It's similar to a pizza but not a pizza." "This is not bread. This is cracker. But not a brittle cracker. This is not pizza dough. It's something in-between." "This deserves a new name." Now, I have a question for you. I've made this particular "pizza" twice - once for Maxine and Carmen and once for Mr. Hawthorne. Here's my question: Did you notice anything missing from my not-pizza? | | | | | | | | | | \/ There was no sauce.