How Do I Make the Sausage Crust?

If you remember from my last sausage crusted pizza, you have to roll the raw sausage out with parchment paper, but first must put the sausage right on the vessel your are baking.

You only roll the top. While you can use your hands to press the sausage out, it will probably end up being too thick, so make sure you disperse the sausage evenly before pressing it. It will take about 1 1 1/4 pounds of sausage for a 12 inch pizza pan. The sausage will shrink about an inch all around. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

How do I make Pizza Sauce?

First of all, please stop buying jarred sauce. It’s heavy, expensive and usually has sugar.

Please do use Cento San Marzano tomatoes to make a quick, sugar free, clean pizza sauce in the time it takes to make the sausage crust. I did a blind taste tasting with all the Cento Tomato products and several competitive San Marzano

Pizza Sauce is so easy because basically it’s a fast tomato sauce, with some fresh oregano or basil. Dried oregano works well too. The key here is fast and fresh, no bottled and heavy. I cook the Cento San Marzano tomatoes, with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and oregano. It’s the first thing to go on the stove and by the time the sausage is ready, the sauce is ready.

What Kind of Cheese do I use for Sausage Crusted Three Cheese Pizza?

I like to use three cheeses. Mozzarella, Ricotta, Pecorino Romano.

The mozzarella delivers the gooey texture we love. The Ricotta needs to be one that is smooth, dense,  and creamy. I like the Publix Greenwise or Polly O. If your ricotta cheese has too much moisture, place on paper towel on a colander, and allow to sit. The pecorino romano is a tangy, salty sheep’s cheese that we always have on hand. It’s our go to grated Italian cheese.

Use Fresh Basil

If possible, use fresh basil. It really makes this pizza sing. If you don’t have access to fresh basil, then use a little dried herbs of choice, (Italian seasoning, dried basil) or use fresh Italian flat parsley.

The Keto Nutrition Macros

1/4 pizza is 5 net carbs.

Broccoli Rabe Keto Pizza

Italian Sausage Crusted Pizza with Peppers with Video

Pizza Sauce Sugar Free

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Keto Sausage Crusted Pizza with Ricotta and Basil

Low Carb, Keto Friendly Pizza where Sausage is used for the Crust.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, Italian sausage, keto pizza, pizza sauce, sausage crust

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 slices

Equipment

• Parchment Paper
• cast iron griddle

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 handful fresh basil

Pizza Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 can San Marzano Tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or basil or dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste

Instructions

Make Sausage Crust

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Use loose sausage. If you have sausage links, remove from casing. spread out with fingers onto griddle or pizza pan. Use parchment paper or plastic wrap and rolling pin to roll out as thin as you can without forming holes. Place parchment on top of sausage and roll. You will not need any binders.
• Sausage will shrink about an inch all around. Form a sausage crust with your fingers the way you would a dough crust.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until sausage is browned.

Make Pizza

• Once sausage is cooked, sop up any grease with paper towels.
• Add about 1/2 cup tomato sauce to pizza crust.
• Add mozzarella cheese.
• Add RIcotta Cheese in dollops of one or tablespoons around the pizza.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Sprinkle grated pecorino romano cheese.
• Fresh basil leaves.
• Put fresh basil on pizza.
• Serve immediately, cutting into six pieces.

The post Keto Sausage Crusted Three Cheese Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Not to be confused with my most recent sourdough focaccia, many of you have asked for a gluten free version. This is a repost of the best ever gluten free focaccia. 

Please don’t let the gluten free description put you off. This focaccia is amazing. It disappears within minutes of coming out of the oven, and once you make it, you’ll make it again tomorrow. I promise.

You all know me by now. I will not put out a gluten free baking recipe I haven’t tested and retested. This went through the Spinach Tiger test kitchen six times.

This amazing gluten free focaccia bread recipe was the result of a beautiful accident.

I was making this amazing gluten free french bread recipe. I accidentally added in some olive oil and I changed baking vessels.

The bottom became crunchy and golden, the top remained not as crunchy and the bread was bouncy. Bouncy like focaccia.

I put it in my oval dutch oven and put the lid on for the first 15 minutes. I believe it’s the cover that keeps the steam in and gives it the bounce it deserves.

This is one of the few gluten free products that is best served right out of the oven, because it’s not gummy and doesn’t need that usual cooling off period.

It’s not dense like this gluten free artisan bread.  It’s, fluffy, bouncy, more like a focaccia bread or deep dish pizza.

You can go ahead and bake it until the top is very crisp if you’re in the mood for that. I’ve made this many ways. It’s something you can make your very own, adding any kinds of toppings you like.

If you don’t have a dutch oven with a lid that’s okay. You can steam by using tin foil. I keep the foil on for the first 15 minutes and then bake at least another 25 minutes.

You can Vary your Ingredients with a Gluten Free Focaccia

I have baked this many ways taking in and taking out various ingredients to see what would happen.



Here’s the good news with this recipe. No matter what I did, I got a great result that was eaten quickly. The texture may have varied, but none of the textures were bad, just different, ranging from springy to flatbread when I used a rectangular baking stone.

If you’re used to the gluten free grocery store choices, you’ll be singing and dancing around the kitchen once you eat a hunk of this bread. You’re only problem is going to be stopping!

How to Season the Gluten Free Focaccia

Our preference is simply fresh rosemary and a little sea salt. Add some chopped rosemary to the flour, and reserve some to use when it comes out of the oven.

We also played around with adding cherry tomatoes.  Roast them first and add them in once the bread starts forming (about half-way).  In one version, I added mozzarella during the last ten minutes of baking.

We also discovered that this gluten free focaccia recipe is useful for making something similar to a deep dish pizza. You have to bake it all the way first, then do the toppings and bake until the cheese is melted, placing it on the top oven rack.

If you love this, you’ll love the gluten free french bread.

More Gluten Free Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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The Disappearing Focaccia Bread Recipe, (Gluten Free)

Italian Gluten Free Focaccia, a spring bread made from rice flour and tapioca flour, topped with olive oil and fresh rosemary.

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 3 tablespoons non-fat dry milk
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal optional
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary divided
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water 110 degrees F.
• 2 tablespoons rapid rising yeast
• 1 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 3 egg whites beaten slightly
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• sea salt for garnish
• cherry tomatoes optional topping
• fresh mozzarella optional topping

Instructions

• Mix together flour, non-fat dry milk, golden flax meal, xantham gum, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary salt in a mixer fitted with a paddle.
• Warm water to 110 degrees F.
• Add yeast and sugar.
• Once the yeast mixture is bubbly, add to flour mixture.
• Mix until incorporated.
• Add vinegar to egg whites.
• Add egg whites mixture, butter.
• Mixture will be very sticky. That's okay.
• Place batter into vessel you will be using. It is recommended that you use parchment paper that has been lightly greased on both sides.
• Poke holes with finger all over.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Allow to rise for 25 minutes.
• Before baking, you can brush with egg wash or melted butter if you desire.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. This will depend on your baking vessel.
• Cover for the first 15 minutes with lid or foil.
• Allow to cool for at least ten minutes before cutting.
• Brush with olive oil.
• If you are using cherry tomatoes, roast those separately, and add during last 10 minutes.
• If you are adding fresh mozzarella, add at the last 10 minutes.

The post The Disappearing Gluten Free Focaccia Bread Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’ve made sourdough bread many times and focaccia many times, but I’ve never put them together. I am making Emilie Raffa’s recipe from her book, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. 

We love this book. The recipes are approachable and always successful. If you’re just starting out with sourdough, I highly recommending starting with this book. 

As we were browsing through this book, that offers the easiest sourdough recipes, we made several, and then landed on sourdough focaccia. I’ve made the sourdough loaves out of this book many times, and we love how easy they are to make and how delicious they come out.

While the twins (now 13) have been doing zoom school here, we got out the sourdough starter we have been using since July 2019, and decided to make two loaves of bread, a sweet roll, and this focaccia. 

This sourdough focaccia is perfect. I even slipped some garlic cloves in the skin, just as the recipe did, along with plenty of rosemary, Maldon sea salt flakes, and olive oil. 

Sourdough Focaccia

Focaccia is supposed to be more bouncy and softer, so I was a little skeptical that it might end up too crusty. It didn’t. It was absolutely perfect. 

While you could taste the sourdough, it had the bounce focaccia is famous for.

If you’ve never had roasted garlic, you’re in for a real treat. As far as putting garlic cloves on, still in their skins, I only wish I had put more than three. This is a culinary wonder. You taste the garlic, but not in an overwhelming way. The garlic bakes to a soft spreadable clove, giving you options to increase the lovely garlic flavor. 

The four of us pretty much killed this sourdough focaccia in a day. 

The Sourdough Focaccia Process

Set aside plenty of time. You make the dough the night before and let it rest for 18 hours. Many of the recipes in the book rest the dough for 12 hours. You will also need time for that second rise, but the baking time is only 25 minutes. I do find the recipes in the book to show baking times ten minutes longer than necessary. 

Once the dough has its final proofing, stretch it out by hand to a rectangle.

Use your finger to dimple. Add fresh garlic in the skin, fresh rosemary, and flaked sea salt.

Once baked, the focaccia is bouncy. Look at the wonderful holes.

You can get from 12 to 20 squares. No matter what, this will disappear fast. You could serve this as is, or with some dipping oil. I used 3 garlic cloves, but next time I’ll use more. The roasted garlic can be spread on the focaccia and is delicious, delicate and not overpowering.

Sourdough Starter

Read more about how we made our own sourdough starter from scratch here. It’s easier than you think.

It feels wrong sometimes to discard some of the starter in the jar to make room to feed it. Instead, why not make these sourdough biscuits.

You might even consider bottling up some starter and giving it to your friends for the holidays, along with this sourdough cookbook 

Sourdough Biscuits and Making starter here.

More Focaccia Recipes

• Fusion Radish Nori Focaccia
• Peach Rosemary Focaccia  
• Gluten Free Focaccia
• Overnight Focaccia (Refrigerated)

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Sourdough Focaccia with Rosemary and Garlic

Easy to make focaccia, from Emillie Raffa's book, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. soft, pillowy and tangy with roasted garlic and rosemary.

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Keyword focaccia, sourdough

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Resting Time 10 hours hours

Servings 12 pieces

Ingredients

• 50 grams bubbly starter 1/4 cup
• 375 grams cool water 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon
• 20 grams honey
• 150 grams all purpose flour see notes
• 350 grams bread flour
• 9 grams fine sea salt 1 1/2 teaspoons
• 45 grams olive oil 3 tablespoons

Toppings

• rosemary sprigs for during and after baking
• 3 garlic cloves in paper shells or more if you like
• 1 teaspoon Maldon flaked sea salt

Instructions

• Make dough night before you plan to bake it. Mix water, honey and starter in bowl with a wooden spoon.
• Weight out flour and salt in another bowl. Then add to liquid.
• Finish mixing by hand to make sure all flour is incorporated. You may want to flour your hands as this dough is sticky.
• Cover with damp towel in a warm environment of 70 degrees F. for 12 to 18 hours until the dough has doubled.
• Once doubled, place on oiled baking sheet, large enough to eventually make a focaccia measuring 14 x 9 with room around the edge. Make sure both sides of dough are oiled. Leave the blob of dough sit there, covered with a damp cloth for 2 hours until puffy. This is the last of the proofing.
• After two hours, stretch the dough to a rectangle of 14 x 9. Use fingers to poke holes. 3 across and 6 down works well.
• Stick garlic cloves in their skin into holes gently and arrange pieces of rosemary. Sprinkle flaked salt. You will add more chopped rosemary when the focaccia comes out of the oven.
• Once roasted, garlic will roast to a soft consistency and you can spread it on the focaccia if you desire.
• Bake at 485 degrees F. for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
• Add more chopped rosemary when the focaccia is hot.
• You may want to serve with more olive oil, garnished with rosemary and salt for dipping.
• Allow to cool (if you can wait) and cut with pizza cutter into squares. The focaccia will soften as it cools.

Notes

The original recipe from Emilie Raffa calls only for all purpose flour. I only had 150 grams of all purpose, so I mixed the flours. It was amazing, so if you don’t have all purpose flour, you can use bread flour.

The post Sourdough Focaccia Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The first time we went to Italy we walked down to the corner cafe in Radda Chianti for a quick dinner. The menu said, “giant pizza for two.” That is unique in Italy, as most pizza is served personal-pan style. The other thing that was different was that there was no description.

You get what you get. We think we got the best pizza of our life.

The crust was crispy, chewy and little bit charred. We ate the whole thing with such gusto, you would have thought we were in a pizza eating contest. Truth is we had just left a wine festival and needed something to eat fast, after having sampled 21 amazing wineries, all for 8 euros.

So take a good look. There’s a little of this, a little of that, spread out in whatever order the owner decided. He was thrilled with our appetite and brought limencello to the table afterwards. This still stands as our best pizza memory of our life and one of our best Italy memories.

That was 2008. This is now 2017 and Spinach Tiger eats gluten free. What’s a girl to do about pizza?

Spinach Tiger finds the world’s best gluten free pizza crust recipe.
She gets busy trying to make a thin, chewy, crispy gluten free pizza crust recipe that delivers the pleasure that only pizza can bring.

I show you how to get close enough to not feel like you’re missing out on Italy’s greatest gift to America. Pizza Pie.

Here is a video for the Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe.

I want to make sure you understand this is not going to be tossed or slapped on the counter. It’s gluten free. We have to take a different tact, but we are thrilled with the results we got!

Mr. Spinach Tiger said this is not just good for gluten free. It’s just good!

I will warn you that the pizza crust starts white and turns a whole wheat color. Don’t let that scare you away. It’s most likely the almond flour that tends to brown easily, but it does not affect the taste whatsoever!

Instead of trying to figure out the ins and outs, I first went to the America Test Kitchen. It’s tricky the first time, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. I adapted the recipe, used Bob’s Red Mill one to one and made a few slight changes.

The Main Ingredients for a Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe

• Gluten Free Flour (We use Bob’s Red Mill One to One)
• Instand Yeast or Rapid Rise (must be this kind)
• Psyllium Husk
• Blanched Almond Flour
• Olive Oil

1. Use a Stand Mixer with a fitted Paddle or use an electric mixer.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. Mix warm water with olive oil. Make sure this is at least 100 degrees, no warmer than 110.
4. Slowly pour into dry ingredients.
5. Mix for what seems forever. Six minutes.
6. Using a plastic wrap sprayed with olive oil or baking spray to spread the dough.
7. Pre-Bake, low and slow, for 40-50 at  325 degrees F, starting with a cold oven.

You must partially pre-bake the crust for long time, up to 50 minutes. A hot oven will only end up in a cracker crust and without the chew, you can’t call this pizza. This ensures the right texture.

I also got a little help with my gluten free pizza dough recipe from my friends at OXO.

OXO sent me a pizza pan, pizza cutter and this vegetable slicer (amazon affiliate). If you take notice at many of my recommendations for kitchen tools, OXO is always in the line-up. I’m brand loyal because I don’t like like a lot of useless gadgets, and they make things that work well and save time. I used these to slice uniform coins of zucchini and to grate parmesan.

The new pizza pan is amazing. It’s not heavy stoneware, but bakes like stone. It stores away more easily than stone and can be used for my famous gluten free biscuits. So famous, that google has put them at the top of the pack. 

Why this pizza pan from works for a Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe

• It’s a heavy gauge aluminized steel, which promotes even heating.
• It has a micro textured pattern, allowing for airflow.
• It bakes like a baking stone, only is not as heavy.
• The Gluten Free Pizza Dough

If you know anything about Spinach Tiger, it’s that I have high standards for my baking recipes and especially for pizza crust. This gluten free pizza dough hits all the points I was hoping for. I didn’t think possible in a gluten free crust, because it’s the elasticity of the gluten that makes pizza dough great.

We used fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, zucchini coins, fresh corn, fresh oregano.

How Does this Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe Taste

The taste is excellent. This gluten free pizza dough recipe is above and beyond what most gluten free breads taste like. My only problem with the pizza crust was wanting to eat too much of it.

Anytime I think about living a gluten free life, I think about losing the ability to eat crusty bread. When we made the first pizza crust, before we put anything on it, we all ate it, like it was bread. I put Irish butter on mine. Some ate it just as it. We loved it that much.

The second time I made this, I made myself a vegan pizza with no cheese, using zucchini, roasted tomatoes, olive oil and fresh corn. It was so delicious, because the crust was amazing. My next plan is to make smaller rounds, freeze them and use for avocado toast or bruschetta.  Stay tuned for that post.

Use the Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe to Make a Giant Pizza for Two

• Apply a tomato sauce or roasted tomatoes in moderate amount.
• Apply a smattering of fresh mozzarella but not too much. 4 ounces is more than enough.
• Apply sliced vegetables, olives, cured beef, bacon, pepperoni, ham (or whatever you like) here and there. Do not stack. Do not overload.
• Bake the final pizza in a hot oven at 500 degrees F.
• When it comes out of the oven, top with arugula or fresh herbs.
• Use the OXO pizza cutter and enjoy!

Oxo supplied the pan, cutter and vegetable slicer for this post: this is not a paid post.

Gluten Free Life Style

You’re here because you eat gluten free. I have good news for you. I have tested and retested the basics. I have biscuits, cobblers, pie crust, cakes and cupcakes. Next week, we’re featuring a gluten free country crusty bread.

So please subscribe and never miss a tested, gluten free recipe that always fits the big fat healthy life style. I’ll link to my whole line of pizzas as you can still use those toppings.

More Gluten Free Baking from Spinach Tiger

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

This post and recipe contains Amazon links. As an affiliate, Spinach Tiger gets paid a small commission.

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Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe

Gluten Free pizza dough adapted from the America Test Kitchen, and applied to the famous giant pizza for two we had in Italy.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 16 ounces (454 grams) Bob's Red Mill one-to-one gluten free flour Order Here
• 2 1/2 ounces (71 grams) almond flour 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Order Here
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (23 grams) powdered psyillium husk Order Here
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (18 grams) baking powder gluten free
• 2 teaspoons (12 grams) salt
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) instant or rapid rise yeast MUST BE THIS KIND OF YEAST
• 2 1/2 cups (585 ml) warm water 100 degrees
• 1/4 cup (54 grams) extra virgin olive oil
• olive oil spray
• Kitchen tools
• spray bottle water
• Kitchen Aid Mixer
• Plastic Wrap
• Large Spatula I used this
• Pizza Pan for Giant Pizza I used this
• Pizza Cutter I used this
• Good Grips Vegetables Slicer I used this

Instructions

• Mix together, flours, psyllium husk, baking powder, salt, yeast.
• Mix using the paddle of electric mixer.
• Mix together warm water and oil and slowly add in steady stream until incorporated.
• Mix for about six minutes on medium.
• The dough will be very sticky, almost like a batter, but will pull away from the sides with a spatula.
• Remove bowl from mixer and top with plastic wrap or 1 1/2 hours or until you see that the dough is bubbly. Use spatula to look at the dough.
• I made one 15 inch pizza and one ten inch personal pizza. You can also make (2) 11 inch pizzas.
• You want your dough about 1/4 inch thick with thicker edges.
• Place dough in center of your baking pan.
• Spray a piece of plastic wrap with baking spray.
• Using a big spatula like the OXO smooth out. You can also use your hands and then use the spatula once you take the plastic off, to smooth out.
• Place in a cold oven.
• Set the temperature to 325 and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Smaller 10 inch sized pizzas will be done at 40 minutes. Larger pizzas take up to 55 minutes.
• Remove and and put toppings on. (You can freeze cooled crusts).
• If you do freeze, you can top and put in oven frozen.
• To Make PIzza:
• Heat Oven to 500 degrees.
• Place toppings on pizza.
• Bake for about 8 -10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. We baked the largest pizza for 15 minutes.

The post Step by Step Gluten Free Pizza Crust Recipe (Video) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is a sponsored post and giveaway in partnership with Vidalia onions. All opinions and recipes are my own.

How exciting is this Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza?  Very, especially because,  thanks to the Vidalia Onion Committee, we are sponsoring a $1,000 gift card giveaway. Just imagine how handy this will come in for early holiday shopping.

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a lovely dinner at this much loved East Nashville restaurant, sponsored by the Turkey Foundation and the Vidalia Onion Committee. Chef Hal Holden-Bache prepared a gourmet meal centered around these Vidalia onions and turkey. We started with a camembert onion soup that was a dream combination and ended with a Vidalia onion ice cream sandwich that left us astonished. There wasn’t a bite left on any plate.

The History of the Vidalia Onion is Intriguing

The Vidalia onion gets it name from Vidalia, Georgia, where the onions got their surprising start. Only a limited number of counties  in Georgia can produce these sweet onions, which were grown “sweet” by accident.

When developing my recipe, there were so many ideas swimming in my head for how to make onions the star of the show. This Vidalia onion summer fruit pizza is just one of several dishes I will be featuring in the coming days, so be sure to come back to visit for Vidalia onion risotto and Vidalia Onion Savory Cheesecake. I decided to make the summer fruit pizza the highlight of this group of recipes because of the summer fruits complementing the sweetness of  Vidalia onions. Add to this a layering of salty prosciutto and sweet corn, and you have the best of the summer in one bite.

The blackberries, honey and basil garnish the pizza AFTER the summer fruit pizza comes out of the oven. The berries give the bite that extra juice and texture, meld perfectly with onions and compliment the corn and peaches. It’s a fantastic bite.

Make sure to not over top the toppings. Proscuitto is salty, so place small amounts here and there. The fresh corn adds texture and another layer of sweetness. The Vidalia onions are thinly sliced and added as the last ingredient (with a smattering of olive oil) before hitting the oven.

Make sure you put the blackberries on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and then drizzle honey.

Please come back this week to get more Vidalia onion recipes. Think risotto and savory cheesecake. The Vidalia Onion Website  has lots of great recipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza

How to make a summer fruit pizza sizzle with vidalia onions and proscuitto, sweet corn, peaches blackberries and drizzle of honey.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 16- ounce pizza dough store bought or recipe here
• 6 slices prosciuitto thinly sliced
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese see note
• 1 large peach
• 1 -2 Vidalia onions thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 16 large blackberries
• 6 leaves fresh basil for garnish
• 1 tablespoon honey for drizzle

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (500 degrees if your oven goes that high)
• If using a store bought pizza dough, bring to room temperature for at least one hour. If the dough seems to resistant to stretching, allow to warm up even more.
• Slice peaches, leaving skin on.
• Cut corn off of the cob.
• Slice Vidalia onions thinly.
• See notes on bakeware for pizza. Divide your dough accordingly, depending on size of pizza.
• Stretch out as much as possible to get a very thin crust. If you make holes in pizza, just push dough together. Holes will fill as pizza is baking.
• When assembling ingredients, place them sporadically.
• Put prosciutto on bottom, followed by corn, peaches, cheese, onions and drizzle of olive oil. Do not put blackberries or honey until the pizza comes out of the oven.
• Bake in very hot oven 450 - 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes, checking at 8 minutes.
• Slice basil chiffonuad style, but not until you are ready to apply.
• Stack basil leaves, roll, and slice perpendicular to the roll.

Notes

You can use cast iron griddle, frying pan, pizza stone or baking sheet pan for pizza. If using sheet pan, make one large pizza. It will not reach sides completely. That's okay. If using stones, this will make two medium sized pizza or three small individual pizzas.

Mozzarella Cheese - if using fresh, make sure you get all the moisture out, especially if packed in water. You can crumble into bite sized pieces with your hands and place on paper towels.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Vidalia Onion Sweet Corn Risotto 

The post Vidalia Onion Summer Fruit Pizza appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It’s easy to put together and I’m so in love with everything sheet pan lately. I’ve made entire meals using either my stone sheet pan this aluminum sheet pan, roasting everything at once. Then I got this wild idea to make a sheet pan pizza.

I used my alumium sheet pan because I took my oven up to 550 degrees. You don’t have to do that. You can make this pizza at 400 or 450 degrees, but it may take a little longer to bake. I love this stone baking sheet and it will go up to 450 degrees. I bake or roast every day in the stone sheet pan.

I use store-bought dough which is about 16 ounces, and I stretch it thinly in the pan. It does not have to reach the sides. We love thin crust, and I try to get it as thin as possible without making holes.

I have a few pizza secrets for easy sheet pan pizza.

1. If you don’t have time to make homemade dough, use store bought dough (read below to see my favorite).
2. Use pizza sauce sparingly.
3. Scatter your toppings.
4. Go light on cheese when using fresh mozzarella.
5. Go ahead and mix your meats. We love Italian sausage and pepperoni, but we scatter instead of layer.
6. Allow ingredients like cheese to come to room temperature so everything bakes evenly.
7. Put fresh herbs such as basil on pizza when it comes out of the oven. 

My Favorite Store Bought Pizza Dough for Sheet Pan Pizza

When you need to make a lot of pizza use a grocery store dough. One batch fits the sheet pan almost perfectly. After testing out a few, Trader Joe’s pizza dough is my favorite and this is not a paid post. It doesn’t have the same elasticity of Publix dough, but it’s much easier to work with and more consistent in baking.

My Favorite Pizza Sauce for Sheet Pan Pizza

My second secret is to use pizza sauce sparingly. An overload of sauce won’t allow the crust to brown properly and it’s not necessary. Think of the pizza sauce as more of a condiment for your toppings. I use a high quality brand of tomato puree, add a tad of olive oil, salt, pepper and sometimes some fresh oregano. That’s it. It’s clean, simple.

A cooking tip regarding pizza sauce  is simply to save some of your tomato sauce from this basic tomato sauce recipe when you make spaghetti and freeze it for the future. A sheet plan pizza doesn’t need more than a cup of sauce.

Scatter Your Toppings for a Sheet Pan Pizza

Forget all that heavy layering that the pizza delivery companies do. They are trying to show value, not necessarily good taste.  That’s no way to enjoy pizza. Scatter your toppings so that each bite of pizza gives you something different. It’s a more authentic way to make Italian pizza and it will bake better.

How to Cut Sheet Pan Pizza

Here is a sheet pan pizza I made with sausage and red onion. So good. Cut down the center lengthwise and cut into triangles.

So tell me are you into the sheet pan trend for making easy meals?

Lets connect on Instagram.  I’d love to see you there.

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Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

How to Make Sheet Pan Pizza with seven tips including my favorite pizza crust.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 16 ounce pizza dough
• 1 cup easy pizza sauce
• 2-3 cups fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup broccoli rabe recipe here
• 3 links Italian Sausage cooked, crumbled
• 2 ounces pepperoni cheese
• cornmeal for bottom of pan

Easy Pizza Sauce Ingredients

• 1 small can high quality tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash salt pepper
• fresh oregano

Instructions

• Take pizza dough out of refrigerator at least 60 minutes in advance.
• Preheat oven to from 450 to 550 degrees
• Sprinkle sheet pan wth corn meal (to prevent sticking.)
• Stretch dough out on sheet pan.
• Spread pizza sauce lightly, leaving room for crust.
• Place sausage, broccoli rabe and pepperoni in scattered way.
• Bake in lowest rack of oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Pizza Sauce Instructions

• Heat tomato puree with olive oil, salt, pepper.
• If you have fresh oregano, add that in.
• You can substitute with a dash of oregano, but I usually don't like that heavier taste.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Thin Crust Pizza with Homemade Dough

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza with Video

Peach Pizza on the Grill

The post Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Homemade Pizza is amazing.It has whatever it is that keeps brussels sprouts lovers, well brussels sprouts lovers. As far as bacon, I need to say nothing, except feel free to change this up with pancetta.

I’m not a fan of red tomato sauce on pizza. I know that sounds crazy, and I may make an exception to this for a pepperoni pizza if I’m in the mood for that. Most of the time I like fresh vegetable or fruit combinations and not a ton of cheese.

You can put as much cheese as you like, I like to just make sure most of the brussels sprouts are covered. Add a few on top just to get that crispy brussels sprouts thing going.

I might add this as an option: Before you put the brussels sprouts on, add a layer of fig jam or apple jelly for a little surprise sweetness. Be bold, you might even go with something cherry or berry.

This is the pizza everyone loves and fights over the last piece!

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Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza Video

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon give a sultry spin to this unique pizza.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough enough for 2 10-inch pizzas
• 20 brussels sprouts
• 2 shallots diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 6 strips bacon cooked, cut crosswise
• salt
• pepper
• Course corn meal

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450-500 degrees F.
• Heat cast iron griddle or baking stone for twenty minutes.
• Sprinkle pizza peel with corn meal (or use parchment paper and corn meal). The corn meal helps prevent dough from sticking.
• Thinly slice brussels sprouts, holding onto the stems.
• Saute brussels sprouts, garlic, shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil, until wilted.
• Put brussels sprouts mixture on dough.
• Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Top with bacon.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, on lowest rack of oven.

The post Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza Video appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It has been way too long since I’ve talked about pizza, but now I just may overload you.

I recently got out Marcella Hazan’s Pizza Dough recipe and then got a little pizza crazy. We’ve been making pizza every day. I love playing the the dough and we even made a video making dough and will be embedding a video of this pizza here as soon as we clear the music copyright.

I’m always giving Retro Rose a lecture about eating too much pizza, trying to get her to cut down on the grains, but ask me how I’m doing with that. You know she was the first to arrive at my most recent pizza party, but while she sticks to the traditional, I like unusual toppings, and I tend to play around with fruit a lot.

Pears and prosciutto are a natural together, and last year I made prosciutto pear amuse bouche. That same combination with cheese and honey on a crispy, chewy pizza crust is even better.

Now this a pizza of two lives. It could almost be a dessert pizza because of the honey and the pears. However, it could just as easily be a main course pizza or an appetizer pizza. That’s up to you.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Pizza Dough

Pear and Fig Jam Pizza on the grill

Broccoli Rabe Pancetta Pizza

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Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza

Pizza that is good for dessert, appetizer or main event, sweet, salty, chewy, crispy.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough Recipe found here
• 2 Bosc Pear thinly sliced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 8 thinly sliced pieces prosciutto
• 4 Tablespoons goat cheese
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Roll out pizza dough
• Arrange mozzarella cheese almost to the ends of dough
• Cover with pears
• Tear prosciutto and place intermittently
• Add in some goat cheese in small amounts, intermittenly
• Put pizza on heavy cast iron griddle or stone that has been preheated.
• Place on bottom rack of the oven.
• Bake at 450 or 500 degrees F for 6-10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper out of the oven.

The post Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza with Honey Drizzle appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’m going right to the heart of pizza. The toppings are never as important as the crust itself. I remember when my mother came back from Italy when I was a teenager. She told us the pizza over there is different. It’s thin. At first I was appalled. I liked that thicker pizza that I grew up on. Fast forward many decades and trips to Italy, and now I only eat the thin crust pizza.

In order for it to be authentic (in my eyes) it has to be chewy and crispy. I tell you all about this in my pizza crust making video.

I got the original recipe from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking. It’s a funny video because while she says you can throw your dough into a mixer, she prefers to throw it on the counter.

I’ve tried it both ways and it’s easier to put in in a Kitchen Aid Mixer, but don’t feel like you have to have a mixer to make pizza. It’s really a matter of bringing the dough together. The hard part is waiting the three hours for it to proof.

There is something very rewarding about getting your hands into dough, kneading, and banging it on the counter. A few days ago I experimented and tried bread flour, but I’m going to say use all purpose flour. You can use the yeast for bread machines, because that makes no difference.

I prefer to use jarred yeast instead of the packages, but make sure you put it in the refrigerator after you open it, and always check the date.

Here is a Video Showing You How I Made the Dough

Come back to get the recipes here for the Pear Prosciutto Goat Cheese Pizza and the Brussels Sprouts, Bacon Pizza.

I can guarantee these combinations are a must for your next pizza party.

Spinach Tiger Pizza Recipes 

Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Authentic Italian Easy Pizza Crust Video

Authentic, crispy, chewy Italian easy pizza crust, adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 28 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup (236 grams) warm water divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) yeast
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) olive oil
• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
• 3 1/4 cup (390 grams) all purpose flour divided

Instructions

• Add yeast to 1/4 cup lukewarm water.
• Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
• Add salt to one cup flour
• Divide flour and water into 1 cups flour, 1/4 cups water.
• Begin by adding in one cup flour to yeast mixture with 1/4 cup of the warm water.
• Add in olive oil.
• Mix well with hands or a large wooden spoon.
• Add next cup of flour, and 1/4 cup water.
• Mix.
• Add third cup of flour. Mix.
• Hold back on final water. Use if needed to create shaggy dough.
• Hold back on final 1/4 cup flour. Use only if needed.
• Begin to knead dough. At this point, you can mix in a kitchen aid type mixer with kneading attachment for about five minutes or until a dough is formed.
• Or, you can knead by hand, and (watch video) throw on counter several times.
• Once you have dough formed, glisten with olive oil, wrap in plastic, place in large bowl.
• Cover with towel and place in warm spot for 3 hours. Dough will double in size.
• Makes 4 individual pizzas.
• Roll out or hand stretch. Put toppings on of your choice. Bake in hot oven of 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes on bottom rack of oven, or until the bottom is very well done.

The post Italian Pizza Crust with Video appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When I was writing this post years ago,  I had a health scare and for a minute (a day, actually) I waited to hear test results.

It could have been the kind of news that tells me I won’t see a walker or failing eye sight or hip replacements because my time is up.

During those 24 hours,  old age seemed like a prize. I have always felt a heavy dose of compassion for my mother in law, because she is in her late 80’s and her body is showing the signs of well-deserved wear and tear.  She uses a walker, her eyesight and memory have lost their way a bit. Her hip needs replaced again.

But during that waiting period,  my perspective changed and I now see old age as good fortune. She has made it through life without a premature illness, car accident, or assault. She is not at the end of her life, for her family tends to live into the 90’s and one grandmother lived to be 106. It’s not the fullness of life one still has in their 60’s, maybe even in their 70’s.

It’s these aged survivors get to see their children grow old, their grandchildren graduate college and even their great grand children walk and talk. It’s such an honor to be witness to that, even with some disabilities.

What was the secret to living so long? I can’t scientifically claim to know, and although they weren’t drinkers or smokers, I think their secret was in their food source. They lived almost exclusively from the food they raised on the farm. As I thought about this and the good phone call I received, I fell even more in love with food from my local farmers.

The cauliflower and the arugula were purchased from local Amish farmers at the Tuesday Franklin Farmer’s Market. I had both items in my refrigerator nearly two weeks before I was able to use them. Amazingly, they were still good enough to make this pizza with.

Cauliflower is Healthy

Cauliflower has the disadvantage of being white. White foods don’t have the same healthy zing appeal as the green or purple food, so I wanted to make sure you knew that cauliflower is high in Vitamin C, omega 3 fatty acids and has special properties (as all cruciferous vegetables do) to fight cancer.

It contains allicin, which helps prevents strokes and  improve heart health. It also helps to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol, and helps with cancers that primarily affect woman, due to indole-3-carbino, which which helps metabolize estrogen.

Cauliflower helps the body to detox, fight inflammation, and aid the digestive system. Low in calories, high in nutrition and available year round, cauliflower is at the ready for roasting,  steaming, mashing,  fried rice, making soup or serving as a low-carb pizza crust.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust, a Blogger’s Favorite

I’ve seen lots of blog posts about a cauliflower pizza crust and I thought making one would be easy.

Not so fast. There are two predominant recipes, one with almond meal and one without.

I  saw different cooking methods for the cauliflower, different baking times, different baking temperatures. So many opinions, yet all with the same goal in mind, which is getting the cauliflower to crisp up enough when it bakes.

I discovered that cauliflower tends to want to steam underneath and not get crispy and that without parchment paper, it will stick and be a hot mess. But each post I read bragged about the wonderfulness of the recipe, and I was hooked to give it a try.

What Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe Did I Follow?

I followed all of them. I took a little of this one from Recipe Girl, a little of this one from Detoxinista, and I even tried the idea of almond meal that I read about on Food Loves Writing, where the pictures are very appetizing. The almond meal recipe is probably a bit more bread like. You can try that recipe or the one I ended up with, which does not have almond meal.  You will enjoy both types as long as you bake your crust long enough.

I made three different pizza. The first one I did not bake first and it took a long time to get brown. The second and third pizza I pre-baked the crust and decided that is the way to go.

You can try all kinds of toppings, but cauliflower seems to love a little olive oil and crushed red pepper. I put crushed red pepper both in the crust and on top of the pizza. It was especially good topped with a little arugula salad. The pepper bite of arugula served my pizza well.

Tips for a Good Cauliflower Pizza Crust

• Use a food processor to crumble the cauliflower. It’s faster. You can use a grater if you don’t have a processor.
• Microwave the cauliflower without water, prior to mixing with other ingredients.
• Use parchment paper. This recipe sticks easily.
• Use a very hot oven, and bake first for at least 20 minutes before adding toppings. The crust should be golden brown in the middle.
• Don’t use more than one egg per 2 cups of cauliflower crumbs.
• If you do use almond meal, it will be a little more bread-like.

Topped with tomato and fresh mozzarella for baking.

This is the almond crust that was pre-baked for 25  minutes first.

More Cauliflower Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Other Good Cauliflower Dishes from Food Bloggers

Spaghetti with Cauliflower, Chile and Parsley Gremolata  by Taste Food

Roasted Curry Cauliflower by Summer Tomato

Whole Head Roasted Cauliflower by Food Republic

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower Pizza Crust for a gluten free or low carb pizza.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1/2 large cauliflower
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons parmesan or pecorino cheese or any combination
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian dried herbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• salt pepper
• Toppings of choice for pizza example of what I used below
• mozzarella cheese
• thinly sliced tomato
• arugula tossed in a tiny bit of olive oil and vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Using a food processor or grater, crumble cauliflower into tiny pieces.
• Microwave for 8 minutes or steam until cooked through.
• Cool.
• the rest of the ingredients and form into a circle for a pizza crust.
• Line baking sheet with parchment (even if you are using a pizza stone).
• If you are using a pizza stone, get it hot first.
• Bake the crust without the toppings for 20-35 minutes. This will depend on how thick your crust is, etc.
• Once golden brown, top with toppings of choice and broil for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
• I topped my pizza with the arugula after it came out of the oven.

The post Cauliflower Pizza Crust Topped with Arugula Salad appeared first on Spinach Tiger.