Roman Pizza Series 5 of 5 - Sausage & Roasted Pepper Pizza

There are many things that I love about Rome, but my favorite (by far) are the all the fountains! Rome has more fountains than any other city in the world and these fountains have provided drinking water and decoration to Romans for more than 2000 years. Here are a few of my favorites from my trip:

The Fountain of Triton in Piazza Barberini that dates back to 1643. We'd pass this fountain everytime we went to and fro the Barberini Metro station.

Bees Fountain which serves as the dedication plaque for the Fountain of Triton.

The Fountain of Neptune found in Piazza Navona.

The Fountain of the Four Rivers also in Piazza Navona which was made my Bernini in 1651.

The Pantheon Fountain, 1577.

Even the drinking fountains are majestically beautiful!

This one's my favorite.

I have saved my favorite fountain for last…the Trevi Fountain! Our hotel, Hotel Accademia was located just steps to the Trevi. Every evening after dinner we’d grab some gelato and people watch around the Trevi. They say if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain that it’ll ensure a return visit to Rome. Hopefully this will ring true, because I desperately want to go back!

The beautiful Trevi!

Hoping for a return visit!

Now…onto the pizza! In my opinion, I saved the best pizza for last. Sausage and peppers is a classic combo, and on this pizza it’s divine! I personally like the hot sausage contrasting against the sweet bell peppers, but you can use any type of sausage you’d like.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Roman Pizza Series as much as I have. Buon appetito!

Roman Pizza Series 5 of 5 – Sausage & Roasted Pepper Pizza

Cook’s Notes: Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter.

Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick.

This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 2/3 C water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature

1 1/4 t table salt

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t sugar

5 T extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

Toppings:

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced and torn into pieces

2 sausage links (hot, mild, sweet…whatever your taste)

1 jarred roasted bell pepper

2-3 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.  Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2.  Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3.  Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4.  One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5.  Drain the can of tomatoes over a bowl for 20-30 minutes.

6.  Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the sausage from casings and place in the preheated pan. Break up the sausage as it cooks so it breaks up into crumbles, continue until fully cooked. Drain the sausage of any pan grease and set aside.

7.  Remove the bell pepper from jar and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the bell pepper into long, thin strips and set aside.

8.  Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

9.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Take the crust out of the oven and sprinkle with drained tomatoes, mozzarella, sausage, and bell pepper. Return to the oven and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

10.  Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board and top with the chopped basil leaves. Let cool slightly and then slice and serve.

Serves 4-6

Source: Dough recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, toppings my own.

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Skip to My Lou

Tip Me Tuesday

Today’s Creative Blog