Prosciutto, Ricotta, and Basil Pizza

Back in August, I posted ‘Cheater, cheater… pizza eater!‘ on how to make a custom pizza quickly using Papa Murphy’s $5 Fave pizza. Today, this is the real deal – pizza from scratch. Yep, you read that correctly… homemade pizza dough for one. I apologize to my Chicago friends in advance as this recipe is more like a New York style pizza, but I will get to a Chicago style pizza eventually! This recipe takes a bit of planning to allow the dough to rise, but overall was simple to make when using a food processor. Since it takes time to make, let’s get cracking!

Save Print

Homemade Pizza Dough

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 24 hours

Total time: 24 hours 20 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1¼ cups bread flour
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
⅔ cups ice water
½ tbsp vegetable or olive oil
¾ tsp salt

Instructions

In a food processor with the blade, add the flour, yeast, and sugar.
Pulse until combined, approximately 3 seconds.
With the food processor running on low, slowly add the ice water until no dry flour remains, approximately 10 seconds.
Allow to rest in the food processor for 10 minutes.
Drizzle the oil and sprinkle the salt over the dough.
Process on low until it forms a ball with a slight sheen and pulls away from the sides, approximately 1 minute.
Remove dough and knead briefly (1 minute) on lightly oiled counter top until smooth.
Shape dough into a tight ball and place in lightly oiled, medium sized bowl.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

Save Print

Fire Roasted Tomato Pizza Sauce

Cuisine: Italian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 1

A versatile pizza sauce, easy to make and perfect for one pizza!

Ingredients

1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp minced onion
¼ tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried basil
salt and pepper as needed

Instructions

In a small saucepan over low heat, add the drained tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano and basil.
Cook gently to break up the tomatoes.
As the tomatoes break down, add the tomato paste.
Cook on low for 15 - 20 minutes.
Add the sauce to a blender and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender periodically.
Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
Remove to a bowl and allow to cool before using on your pizza.

Save Print

Prosciutto, Ricotta, and Basil Pizza

Cuisine: Italian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 27 mins

Serves: 1

Let's take some time to enjoy a homemade pizza. It's not as hard as you may think, so go for it!

Ingredients

Pizza dough (see above)
Pizza sauce (see above)
⅓ cup ricotta cheese
2 slices prosciutto, torn
1 - 2 crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cup of Italian mix cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, asiago, romano)
6 large leaves of basil, chiffonade
1 tbsp olive oil
Canola oil spray

Instructions

To prepare the pizza dough:
If using a pizza stone (highly recommended!), place it on the rack, second from the top.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Allow the oven to heat for at least one hour if using a pizza stone.
Take the pizza dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Sprinkle the dough and counter top with a generous amount of flour.
Place the dough in the center and press out into an 8 inch disk, leaving the edge slightly thicker.
Continue to rotate the dough while stretching it out to a 12 - 13 inch disk.
If using a pizza peel, lightly flour it and gently transfer the dough onto it.
If using a pizza pan, lightly spray with canola oil and move the dough onto it.
To assemble the pizza:
Using a large spoon, ladle some of the prepared pizza sauce onto the pizza dough.
Spread the sauce with the back of the spoon to within ¾ inch of the edge.
Using a small spoon, drop small teaspoon sized dollops of ricotta around the pizza, evenly spaced.
Drop the prosciutto around the pizza next, then the mushrooms.
Lastly, sprinkle Italian cheese evenly around the pizza.
To bake the pizza:
Place the pizza into the oven on the second rack from the top (either on the pizza stone directly or in the pan).
Cook for 5 minutes, then turn for another 5 minutes.
Brush the crust with the olive oil after minutes and cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove pizza to a wire rack and allow to slightly cool for 5 minutes.