Turkey Sausage Pizza

I'm really enjoying the bread class that I'm currently in, so much that I go home and like to make more of the breads I've learned that morning.  In the past when I've made pizza, I would buy the pre-made bagged pizza dough that Trader Joe's sells, but since I made pizza in class a few weeks ago, I decided to not be lazy and just make the dough. It was much quicker than I thought, especially using my kitchen aid mixer versus all the kneading we do by hand in class [its my daily upper body work out!]. I let the dough slow-ferment in the fridge and by dinner time, it was ready to roll out and become a pizza. Usually when I order pizza out, I looove the stuffed crust ones and since I bought some amazing Italian truffle cheese the other day, I turned that into a delicious crust.

I don't know why many people are so intimidated by making yeast doughs. There are only a handful of mixing methods for doughs, and usually its a straight dough method aka everything in the bowl + mix. Taking 15 minutes to make a dough sure beats spending $10 on a pre-made dough or buying those already baked cardboard "pizza crusts". Once you make doughs a few times, you should get a feel for how its supposed to be.

Turkey Sausage Pizza
 (adapted from Le Cordon Bleu + my recipe) 

Pizza Dough
16 oz water
3/4 oz fresh yeast (or 50% active dry, 30% instant)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 oz sea salt
2 oz olive oil
~ 1 lb 12 oz bread flour

Turkey Sausage + Toppings
1 lb ground turkey
3 cloves garlic, minced and formed into a paste
1 tbsp  fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt, pepper
2 tsp granulated onion
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch red pepper flakes

- 16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- block cheese (mozzarella), cut into small sticks about 1/4-1/2 inch diameter
- tomato sauce [ I used 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 tsp fresh rosemary, 1 clove garlic, pinch dried oregano, salt/pepper- all in food processor until smooth]

for the turkey sausage: combine, all ingredients in bowl and form into 2 oz patties.  Heat saute pan with oil, and saute until fully cooked. Cool, and chop up for pizza toppings.

To make the dough [ you can do this by hand in a bowl with a spoon or just your hands], start with the paddle attachment on the mixer and mix all ingredients together except the flour.
[*Note, if you are using dry active yeast, activate first with some of the water]

Start adding the flour, some at a time, and mix until a wet, clumpy dough is formed.

Change to the dough hook and add more flour, mixing until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and all the flour is incorporated [the entire flour amount might not need to be used]. Knead on a medium speed about 5 minutes, check the gluten window and elasticity of the dough.

To do this: stretch a small amount of dough, if it doesn't tear, it is done being kneaded.

Round the dough and place in an oiled bowl and cover. You can let this dough proof at room temperature until doubled in size, or in the fridge at a slower rate if you do not need it right away.

When doubled in size, punch down. Divide in half. Roll out on floured surface into desired pizza shape. This dough makes 2 full size pizzas, or 4 smaller ones.

Preheat Oven to 450F. 

To make a stuffed crust: take the cheese sticks and line up as a border around the crust. Fold dough over them, making a rope. Once all cheese is covered, do another rope fold.

Sprinkle with semolina or cornmeal, flip over and place dough on an oiled sheet tray or pizza tray, put on toppings and bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly, and crust is browned.

Enjoy!