June 14th--Sausage and Spinach Pizza

Dave:

Making pizza at home is a staple of the home chef (especially when the home chef is in a hurry.) With the myriad "take and bake" crusts available, it has become less and less likely that a homemade pizza is actually made from scratch. But why should anyone go to all the trouble of making pizza crust from scratch, you ask? Because homemade crust is better! It's chewy and yeasty and, if you make it just right, a little bit honey-ey. Tonight we made our crust from scratch, and the pizza is so much better than Boboli.

Lauren:

Personally, I think the best approximation for the crust flavor is "unsalted soft pretzel." And yes, it is completely delicious.

We also have to get creative with our pizza topping options hereabouts, as I'm vegetarian and Dave is very accommodating. Gimme Lean (of the Lightlife family of un-meats) is tasty on its own, and also takes well to seasoning mixes (exact seasoning mix to follow). Wilted spinach is also a great pizza accompaniment - as well as a way to pretend pizza is healthier - so on it went!

Dave:
Another way this recipe has been health-ified is the flour mixture. When Lauren and I first started cooking together, she insisted on using whole wheat pastry flour, which was a new experience for me.

Lauren:

I don't know if I'd say insist, just strongly prefer. Sure, it's healthier, but I also find that it enhances the flavor of the dough - makes it a bit heartier and more rustic. The downside? The dough tends to be a little denser, which means it doesn't rise quite as much during leavening or baking. However, through the powers of mad science...

Dave:

I've learned that sifting the whole wheat flour and adding vital wheat gluten makes it act a lot more like all-purpose flour. Also, the honey in the yeast mixture (see recipe below) speeds up the rising time from the original three hours.

Recipe:
Crust (Modified from The Silver Spoon)

1 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 Cup lukewarm water
4 1/2 Tsp. yeast
1 1/2 Tsp. honey

1/2 Cup pizza sauce (or your favorite spaghetti sauce - vodka sauce pizza is incredible)
1/2 Tube "Gimme Lean" sausage product
Seasoning mix (1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. dried minced garlic and 1 tsp. coriander, finely ground with mortar and pestle)
6 oz. baby spinach
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Handful corn meal

On a flat surface, sift out the flour and the vital wheat gluten. Shape the flour mixture into a cone. Create a "well" in the top of the cone with your index finger. Mash the yeast and honey in the water with a fork until smooth. Pour the yeast mixture gradually into the well. Form the dough into a ball and work the dough, adding water or flour as needed until it is smooth and elastic. Cut an "X" into the top of the ball and leave it covered in a greased bowl in a warm place. Allow the dough to rise 2 hours.

Wilt the spinach over medium heat with the minced garlic. Set aside.

Mix the Gimme Lean with the spice mixture and shape into small balls. Lightly fry the balls in olive oil.

Pull out the dough and flatten it with a rolling pin until about 1/2 inch thick. Crimp the edges of the dough. Place dough on a pizza stone that has been sprinkled with corn meal (if you do not have a pizza stone, spray olive oil on a baking sheet, then sprinkle with corn meal).

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cover the dough with sauce. Cover the sauce with the wilted spinach. Cover the wilted spinach with cheese. Place "meatballs" evenly over the surface of the pizza. Bake on center rack at 350F for 20 minutes.

Optional: Serve the pizza with Louisiana Hot Sauce. Why? Because it's even better that way.