Yes, we have pizza at our retreat center! The key to having it a healthy option comes from using good organic flours (rye and all-purpose in this version) for the dough, and adding plenty of fresh vegetables on top. This recipe makes two large 12 x 16-inch pizzas.
Ingredients for the Dough:
- 3 C warm water
- 4 Tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 4 Tbsp good olive oil, and more for brushing on the dough
- 3 Tsp Himalayan or other good salt
- 1 C organic rye flour
- 6 to 7 C all-purpose unbleached organic flour, or more as needed
- 1 C cornmeal (optional)
- 2 sheets parchment paper (optional)
Directions:
- Put 1 C of the warm water in a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl.
- Stir in maple syrup and yeast.
- Set aside until foamy, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in olive oil and salt, attach a dough hook to the mixer and start mixing in on a low speed the rye flour followed by the all-purpose flour.
- After the flour is mixed, turn up the speed of the mixer until dough is smooth and shiny.
- Remove the dough hook, take out the dough and place it in a twice as big oiled bowl (allowing room for the rise), turning a few times to thoroughly coat.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm part of your kitchen to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours or so.
- Divide into two pieces, shape loosely into balls.\Roll out one on each sheet of parchment paper over the cornmeal creating two large thin rectangles.
- Slide the parchment paper with the rolled out dough onto baking sheets, brush with olive oil and cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap.
- Let rest and rise for another hour.
Making the Pizzas
Ingredients:
- Tomato Sauce (easily make your own by heating together 4 Tbsp good olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, 2 28-ounce cans of organic crushed or diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. (I like to make it smooth in a blender and add a splash of red wine and big spoonful of tomato paste, but you don’t need to.)
- Chopped vegetables: such as bell peppers, onions, leeks, olives or mushrooms, etc., whatever you like.
- Mozzarella, provolone and/or parmesan cheeses, grated
- 6 garlic cloves and a huge handful of fresh parsley (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. I like to thoroughly cover the dough with a thin layer of tomato sauce, and do a first bake for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Take out the dough, place on safe counter space and create the type of pizza you want adding a good array of vegetables.
- Cover with mozzarella, provolone and/or parmesan cheeses.
- A nice optional touch at the end is to finely chop garlic and fresh parsley together, and toss over your pizzas for the final 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
