November starts the holiday season...and with it holiday parties. Why not work some pizza into your festive gatherings? Sliced into small squares and topped with oven-dried tomatoes, smoky onions, fresh herbs and just a dusting of Parmigiano Reggiano, a thick crust pizza makes the perfect appetizer or passed hors d’oeuvre. Your guests will be very thankful!
Stir together yeast, warm water, honey and ½ cup of Colavita Flour in a small bowl and cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth). Let it rest until blubbly and foamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, ¼ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the sea salt. Mix it well. You can use a standing mixer like a Kitchen aid for this. You could try it with a large, hearty food processor as well.
Add in the rest of the flour, ½ cup at a time and mix until it is all incorporated.
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, to 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let it rest until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly oiled 9x13 pan. Press the dough out to fit the pan and let it rise for 30 more minutes.
After the 30 minutes, press the surface of the dough with your fingertips to make little dimples on the top.
Alternately, you can let the dough rise in the refrigerator over night so you can prepare it the next day.
Apply the roasted tomato slices, caramelized onions , rosemary and parmesan cheese.
Bake the bread the oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for 20 minutes longer. If the top of the bread browns too much, you can cover it with some aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, let it cool and cut into 2” squares for bite-size pieces!
Servings 4