Cooking for Zo

Taste Level: GR
Cost: $20 and under
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 40-45 min.
Cook Time: 25-30 min.
Difficulty: 2

This is actually a half and half pizza. I will be posting the other half in a couple of days but my posts will be as if I had made the whole pizza one way. I made a half and half pizza because my parents were coming over and my mother does not like pizza very much. The thing she likes least about pizza is the usual American tomato sauce put on pizzas (something Zo and I are picky about as well.) Growing up she would eat french bread pizza with pesto and sun dried tomatoes however. So I catered this pizza to my mothers taste buds but all parties involved loved this pizza and the other half as well. I knew I had done a good job when my mother went and got seconds!

(For instructions on how to make your own sourdough pizza skin check posting dated 7/7/09.)

Toppings
3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes (sliced)
8 oz fresh mozzarella (shredded)
1/3 cup smoked gouda (shredded)

Sauce
3 tbsp pesto
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fresh thyme (diced)
1/2 tsp fresh oregano (diced)
crack pepper (to taste)

Crust
1 portion of sourdough pizza dough check posting for 7/7/09 or pre-made crust

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Tossing dough
What works best for me is I strongly throw the ball of dough down on a solid flat surface covered with a piece of wax paper until it is large and flat enough for me to easily balance on top of both of my fists. Then I make an X with my arms keeping my fists close together (backhand to back hand, the dough atop of them both) and I fling the dough upwards with my fingers as I simultaneously bring my arms quickly parallel (palm to palm) about 3-4 inches apart. As the dough falls I remake my fists and catch the dough atop them again in the X position and repeat until the dough has formed a 12-14 inch crust.

(Alternately you can lay dough on a solid flat surface covered with wax paper and squish flat with hands. Roll into a ball and slam the dough down onto your solid flat surface covered with a piece of wax paper. Using your fist mush the dough down repeatedly as if you were punching it softly but firmly (this helps get any air bubbles out of it.) Now using your finger tips press and stretch dough until you have formed a 12-14 inch circular pizza skin (you can also make an easier rectangle skin.)

Sauce
Mix pesto together with seasonings in a small bowl till mixed well.

Pizza
Sprinkle corn meal onto a baking sheet and lay skin on to it. Pour the pesto sauce into the center of crust and spread sauce evenly up to about an inch and a half away from the edge of the crust (I find using a pastry spatula works great for spreading tomato sauce.) Evenly sprinkle mozzarella over the sauce. Now add sun dried tomatoes and then sprinkle Gouda over the top.

Place pizza on baking sheet lightly coated with corn meal. Arrange your oven racks to where they are on the upper and lower thirds of the oven. If you are using a baking stone as we do place it directly onto the floor of a preheated oven for 45 minutes (but you will be less likely to ruin your pizza stone if you place it on a rack at its lowest position.) Place baking sheet with pizza on the lower oven rack and bake for 7-10 minutes, move pizza on baking sheet to upper rack and bake 7-10 minutes (if cooking a second pizza you can put it on the lower rack now on a separate baking sheet.) Slide Pizza off of baking sheet directly onto baking stone and cook for 3-8 minutes or until crisp and bottom is browning (if you were cooking a second pizza you would move it to the top rack on its baking sheet once you slide the first pizza onto the baking stone and of course you would move it to the baking stone once you have remove the first pizza and cooked the second one 7-10 minutes on the upper rack.) Slide pizza onto a cutting board or baking sheet and use a pizza slicer to cut into 8-10 slices and serve hot with your favorite pizza sides, seasonings and sauces!