I wish I could take credit for this recipe but, I cannot! My husband saw this one day and sent the recipe to me, it was from there that I gathered the ingredients and set out to bake one up - doubting the entire way that this would turn out - at all. This zucchini pizza not only turned out beautiful - its fantastic! The two of us at this for dinner and were fully satiated and enjoyed each bite thoroughly. I have always shred my garden zucchini in 2 cup portions for zucchini bread but, now I will be adding 4 cup portions to my freezer for this recipe needs to be made on a more consistent basis!! It's 'guilt-free' and again - its TASTY!!!!!!! Don't forget you can add your own twists to the ingredients but, important note: always use parchment paper to bake this on, and always wring your zucchini out really well!! I use my jelly bag in place of a kitchen towel to wring out all the excess water from my zucchini - works like a charm! Enjoy! Diane
Ingredients 4 cups grated zucchini, about 3-4 medium zucchini 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 3 cups shredded mozzarella, divided: reserve 2 cups for topping pizza 1/2 cup finely shred Parmesan 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or adjust to your liking 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or adjust to your liking 2 teaspoons dried parsley flake: to top pizza Marinara sauce for dipping bake pizza Preheat oven to 425F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a clean kitchen towel, wring out excess water/moisture from the zucchini *important step to get a good bake! Place zucchini in a large mixing bowl, add eggs, garlic, oregano, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the parmesan, cornstarch, salt & pepper. Stir until well combined. Spread out zucchini mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and pat into a 'crust'. Bake until golden and dried out, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle on the parsley. Bake once again until cheese is melted, approximately 8-10 minutes. Slice and serve with marinara. Enjoy! Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
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Sharing with you an easy recipe. I consider this a kitchen 'short-cut' as well. Instead of making pizza dough as needed - why not make enough for 4 pizzas all at one time and freeze them. All you do is grab a frozen dough ball the morning of when you want to make your pizza for dinner and place in your fridge to 'defrost' and yep, it will even start to rise/grow a bit too... This recipe comes from 'The Pioneer Woman' and makes 4 dough balls - when freezing lightly wrap each ball in parchment paper (so they don't touch) and place all four in one large Ziploc for the freezer - when defrosting dough grab one dough ball from freezer and place in a gallon bag for the fridge. ~Enjoy! Diane
Pizza Dough Ingredients: 4-1/2 teaspoons Rapid-Rise Yeast (approx 2 1/4 packets) 2 cups Warm Water (my yeast calls for 120ºF water, check your packet) 2 teaspoons Sugar 5 cups Bread Flour (I use & love King Arthur Bread Flour) 1/4 cup Olive Oil 1 teaspoon Salt Directions: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, warmed water, and sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes. This is 'proofing' your yeast, the liquid should be foamy and bubbly, indicating that the yeast is alive. Add the bread flour, olive oil, and salt to mixer bowl and stir using the dough hook until combined. Then knead on medium low speed for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (Diane Kitchen Tip: or use a clean/clear & new shower cap) and let rise for about 30 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into four even pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. (Diane Kitchen Tip: I use my small kitchen scale and quickly weigh each dough ball to ensure I divided equally) The dough is now ready to be frozen. To freeze pizza dough, place the pizza dough balls into resealable plastic bags. Make sure that if you put multiple balls of dough in one bag, you use parchment paper or wax paper to keep them separated. To thaw, place the pizza dough in the refrigerator the morning before you want to make dinner, then roll and bake as usual. To bake, preheat oven to 495ºF. Roll thawed (or freshly made) dough and bake each pizza about 12–15 minutes. Pizza Making ~ Diane Kitchen Tip: I lightly coat my baking sheet with olive oil before placing my dough down on it and then I add sauce - not too much - you don't want a soggy pizza! followed by shredded cheeses and then any veggies or meats over that - this helps to keep the crust crispier if you lay the meats and veggies over the cheeses. I also precook my veggies for about 5 minutes on the stove top to release their flavors before adding to pizza. Yield: 4 Pizza Dough Balls Pizza Dough Recipe Adapted from: Ree Drummond "The Pioneer Woman" Photos & Kitchen Tips by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Making your own pizza crust does take time but, if you make many and pre-bake/freeze them, your set for quite some time. We like the 14" 1/2 inch round pizzas so, this recipe makes 2 pizza dough's for that...Our pizza stone is 14" so it all works perfectly. I use my homemade pasta sauce as pizza sauce by thickening the sauce upon reheating - works perfect every time. I also saute and cook any toppings that will be needed for the pizza while the dough is rising...
~Enjoy! Diane Homemade Pizza Crust Ingredients: plain basic crust: 2 tsp active dry yeast 1 cup + 2 Tbs, divided lukewarm water, or temp called for by your yeast 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil 3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/4 teaspoons salt *optional - for flavoring the crust: 1/2 Cup finely shredded Parmesan Cheese* 1 tsp Oregano* 1 tsp Basil* 1 Clove of Garlic finely diced, minced" **Brush Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the edges of the crust before baking, to brown the crust. Directions: 1) Dissolve active dry yeast with a pinch of sugar, in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step. 2) Combine the dissolved yeast (or the instant yeast) with the remainder of the ingredients. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a soft, smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 4 to 5 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. Don't over-knead the dough; it should hold together, but can still look fairly rough on the surface. 3) To make pizza up to 24 hours later, skip to step 5. 4) To make pizza now: Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow it to rise till it's very puffy. This will take about an hour using instant yeast, or 90 minutes using active dry. If it takes longer, that's OK; just give it some extra time. 5) To make pizza later: Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate the dough for 4 hours (or for up to 24 hours); it will rise slowly as it chills. This step allows you more schedule flexibility; it also develops the crust's flavor. About 2 to 3 hours before you want to serve pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator. 6) Decide what size, shape, and thickness of pizza you want to make. This recipe will make one of the following choices: Two 1/2"-thick 14" round pizzas; Two 3/4"-thick 12" round pizzas; One 3/4" to 1"-thick 13" x 18" rectangular (Sicilian-style) pizza; One 1 1/2"-thick 9" x 13" rectangular pizza; One 1"-thick 14" round pizza. 7) Divide the dough in half, for two pizzas; or leave it whole for one pizza. 8) If you're making a rectangular pizza, shape the dough into a rough oval. For a round pizza, shape it into a rough circle. In either case, don't pat it flat; just stretch it briefly into shape. Allow the dough to rest, covered with an overturned bowl or lightly greased plastic wrap, for 15 minutes. 9) Use vegetable oil pan spray to lightly grease the pan(s) of your choice. Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of the pan(s). The pan spray keeps the pizza from sticking; the olive oil gives the crust great flavor and crunch. 10) Place the dough in the prepared pan(s). Press it over the bottom of the pan, stretching it towards the edges. You'll probably get about two-thirds of the way there before the dough starts shrinking back; walk away for 15 minutes. Cover the dough while you're away, so it doesn't dry out. 11) When you come back, you should be able to pat the dough closer to the corners of the pan. Repeat the rest and dough-stretch one more time, if necessary; your goal is to get the dough to fill the pan as fully as possible. 12) Allow the dough to rise, covered, till it's noticeably puffy, about 90 minutes (if it hasn't been refrigerated); or 2 to 2 1/2 hours (if it's been refrigerated). Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450°F. 13) Bake the pizza on the lower oven rack till it looks and feels set on top, and is just beginning to brown around the edge of the crust, but is still pale on top. This will take about 8 minutes for thinner crust pizza; about 10 to 12 minutes for medium thickness; and 12 to 14 minutes for thick-crust pizza. If you're baking two pizzas, reverse them in the oven (top to bottom, bottom to top) midway through the baking period. 14) To serve pizza immediately: Remove it from the oven, and arrange your toppings of choice on top. Return to the oven, and bake on the upper oven rack for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned, both top and bottom, and the cheese is melted. Check it midway through, and move it to the bottom rack if the top is browning too much, or the bottom not enough. 15) To serve pizza up to 2 days later: Remove the un-topped, partially baked crust from the oven, cool completely on a rack, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. When ready to serve, top and bake in a preheated 450°F oven, adding a couple of minutes to the baking times noted above. Your goal is a pizza whose crust is browned, and whose toppings are hot/melted. 16) Remove the pizza from the oven, and transfer it from the pan to a rack to cool slightly before serving. Slice and Serve. Recipe Adapted from: King Arthur Flour "Pizza Crust" Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home |