Sunday Supper: Pizza with Prosciutto & Balsamic Onions

This Sunday I made a delicious pizza with prosciutto, balsamic onions, and roasted bell pepper. I combined two recipes: one from Williams Sonoma for the dough, and the other from Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com for the toppings. I really liked that there was no sauce on this pizza. Just a little bit of garlic infused olive oil brushed on the crust before baking. If you wanted to make a vegetarian version, you could switch the prosciutto for sautéed mushrooms. Pizza dough is actually very easy to make. I have read online that the dough is best if made 1-2 days ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use. I made my dough last night and let it sit until today, and the crust was delicious! I am interested in trying this crust using only whole wheat flour, but I’m not sure what this would do to the consistency of the pizza. I’ll try this next time.

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough: 

1 cup lukewarm water

1 Tbs. honey 

2 tsp. olive oil 

1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed 

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 

1 tsp. kosher salt 

Toppings:

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup olive oil

1 12-ounce red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 large red bell pepper

1 cup (packed) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

4 thin slices prosciutto, sliced crosswise into thin strips

Directions:

Position a rack in the lowest position in an oven and preheat to 450°F. Lightly oil one 14-by-16-inch baking sheet, one 14-inch pizza pan or four 9-inch pizza or tart pans. 

To make the dough, in a small bowl, stir together the lukewarm water, the honey and 1 tsp. of the olive oil until blended. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir, adding enough of the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or more if needed, to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work area and knead until the surface of the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour as needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl with the remaining 1 tsp. olive oil. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Turn to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 12 minutes. Add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until liquid cooks away and onion is very tender, about 4 minutes; season onion with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and sauté just until garlic begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic to custard cup. Pour oil into separate small bowl.

Char bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and slice thinly.

On a lightly floured work surface, gently stretch or roll out the dough to fit the prepared pan(s). Transfer the dough to the pan(s). 

Brush 1 tablespoon reserved garlic oil over dough, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Sprinkle with mozzarella, then reserved garlic and balsamic onion. Top with pepper strips in spoke pattern. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake until the crust is nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Spray the bottom of the oven with water at regular intervals 3 times during the first 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Arrange prosciutto atop pizza. Bake until prosciutto softens, about 30 seconds.