Pizza with smoked salmon, fennel, and zucchini

Pizza is one of America's favorite foods and there's no surprise why. It has become such a staple in our diets that there are now thousands of varieties of pizza from the toppings to the type of crusts to the type of sauce. I do indulge in the occasional take-out pizzas, but making them fresh at home is much healthier and gives you many more options. Use this basic pizza dough and create your own pizza at home!

Basic Pizza Dough 

Recipe from Cooking Light

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Yield: 1 12 inch pizza crust

Ingredients

2 tsp honey

1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

3/4 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces), divided

1/2 tsp salt

cooking spray

2 tbsp stone-ground yellow cornmeal

Directions

1. Dissolve the honey and yeast in 3/4 cup warm water in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough form. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 tbsp at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).
2. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degree F), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Gently press two fingers into dough. If the indentation remains, the dough has risen enough. 
3. Roll dough into a 12 inch circle (about 1/4 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a rimless baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim. Lightly spray surface of dough with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for up to 30 minutes. Bake according to recipe directions.

Nutritional Analysis:
per 12 inch crust: 1155 calories, 3.4g fat (0.6g saturated, 0.5g polyunsaturated, 1.3g monounsaturated), 242.5g carbohydrates, 10.8g fiber, 33.8g protein 

White Pizza Sauce

Recipe from completelypizza.com

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Yield: about 1 cup

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Use a medium saucepan to melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mix together. Slowly add the milk to the pan, using a wire whisk to mix it well with the butter/flour mixture. Add all the other ingredients and stir until blended. Sauce will thicken as it stands. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per cup: 581 calories, 39g fat (24.6g saturated, 1.4g polyunsaturated, 10.9g monounsaturated), 31.7g carbohydrates, 0.7g fiber, 26.0g protein 

Pizza with smoked salmon, fennel and zucchini

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 12 inch pizza

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced in 1/4 inch half-moon shapes

1 red onion, sliced

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

5 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced

pre-baked pizza dough

white pizza sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. 
2. Heat a saute pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the zucchini, red onion, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and saute until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Spread about 1 cup of the white pizza sauce onto the crust. Top with sliced smoked salmon and the sauteed vegetables. Bake in the oven at 475 for 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per slice  (8 slices per pizza): 256 calories, 6.15g fat (3.3g saturated, 0.5g polyunsaturated, 1.8g monounsaturated), 38.3g carbohydrates, 2.3g fiber, 11.3g protein 

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

This is a great basic pizza dough recipe that you can easily change according to your preferences. You can also freeze this dough and use it for next time. 

When you are preparing the yeast mixture for the dough, make sure the water is not boiling hot or too cold. You need the right temperature in order to properly activate the yeast. You know it's ready when it begins to foam on the top. 

I used my kitchen aid mixer to prepare the dough. I'm not sure if it's because I used the mixer or not but I did not need the additional 1/4 of flour. In total I only used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and it need not seem too wet. Since the machine is much quicker than by hand, I only kneaded it with the dough hook for about 2 minutes or until it became smooth and elastic.

The dough may not look like it has risen that much, but if your indentation remains, it's ready!

Lightly dust your working surface to help you roll out the dough easier; this will prevent it from sticking to the counter. Don't worry if your pizza isn't an exact 12 inch circle. The main goal is to get an even thickness rather than a perfect circle. 

I chose to crimp my pizza as if I would a pie, by gently folding over of the edges. The end result was a pleated look for the crust. 

To transfer the dough to the baking sheet, drape the dough over your rolling pin and gently lay it on the rimless baking sheet (simply turn your baking sheet over).

To make the white pizza sauce, you are basically making a bechamel, one of the five Mother sauces. Make a roux first with the flour and butter. Slowly whisk in the milk and seasonings. I added less Italian seasoning since the herbs are quite strong. You can also choose to substitute it with fresh chopped basil.

The longer you cook your sauce, the thicker it will get. As it sits, it will also get thick. If your sauce gets to the point where it is "goopy" because of the cheese, let the cheese cook out and the consistency will return to before.

Now I tried two methods of baking the pizza. For both methods, first heat up a baking sheet turned upside down in your oven. After refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes, remove the heated baking sheet from the oven and transfer your dough to the sheet. Put on your sauce and toppings and bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Your second option is to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes then remove and transfer to the heated baking sheet. Bake the dough for 10 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven (very important! If you bake your dough on the top rack, it will turn golden too quickly!). Remove from oven and add your sauce and toppings. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

The difference between the two methods is very subtle. If you prebake the crust, you will end up with a slightly airy dough. As you can see below, air pockets form throughout the crust; this does not occur if baked only once with the toppings because of the weight of the toppings. If you do not prebake the crust, the dough is softer than it would be prebaked. 

What a great looking pizza, and fortunately, it tasted just as good! My coworker especially enjoyed the dough; it was good enough to eat on its own sans the toppings and sauce. The crust had a slight chew factor and was perfectly seasoned. The white sauce added a creaminess that balanced out the saltiness of the salmon. We actually served 1/4 of the pizza per person and was able to satisfy everyone's hunger.

For variations of the dough, you can add 2 tbsp of finely chopped walnuts or pecans for a nutty dough, 2 tbsp finely grated cheese for a cheese dough, or even 1 tsp ground black pepper for a pepper dough. The choices are endless!