Peach, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Pizza

There is something SO therapeutic about making your own pizza from scratch, and most people have no idea how easy it is!  You can use a prepared store-bought crust if you are pressed for time; there are some great ones out there. I highly recommend making the dough the day before and keeping it in the fridge until you are ready to use it, as the long ‘proof’ really improves the dough’s texture and taste.  I indicated quantities of the topping ingredients, but really just use however much you want. Pizza is more of an art than a science!

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust (makes 4-6 pizzas)

• 750 g white flour (use Tipo ’00 flour if you can or a strong bread flour)
• 200 g semolina flour
• 2 ½ cups lukewarm water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. (or 2 x 8 oz packages) yeast
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Toppings (quantities for each pizza)

• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3 slices of Italian Prosciutto
• 1 peach, sliced
• ¼ cup goat cheese
• 3 Tbsp. torn basil leaves
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic reduction

Directions:

1. Place your flour(s) and sea salt in a large bowl and whisk together.  Create a well in the center.
2. In a large measuring cup, mix together your lukewarm water and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Sprinkle in the yeast and let it sit for approximately 5 minutes, until the yeast starts to ferment.
3. Pour the water/sugar/yeast mixture into the well along with the olive oil and stir together with a fork or large spoon until it is well mixed.  Once it becomes too difficult to mix together with your fork or spoon, sprinkle extra flour on the dough and your hands and mix with your hands until the dough comes together in a ball.
4. Place the dough on a well-floured flat surface and knead, pushing the dough using the palms of your hands, for approximately 10 minutes, until the dough looks smooth and stretchy.  You may need to add extra flour as you go, being careful not to add too much to keep the dough from being too stiff.
5. Place the ball of dough in a large bowl coated with olive oil, dust the top of the dough with flour, and cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm draft-free area for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.  Punch the dough down.  At this point you can either refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 2 days, covered with plastic wrap and occasionally punched down) or divide the dough into 4-6 portions (depending on how big you want your pizzas).  I highly recommend making your dough in advance and letting it sit in the fridge as the longer ‘proof’ really makes a difference.
6. Once ready to cook, heat your oven to the highest heat setting (500F for most ovens) and place your pizza stone in the oven for at least 20 minutes.
7. Roll out your pizza crust 15 minutes before cooking your pizza on a flat surface dusted with semolina flour until it is nice and thin.  You will likely have to stretch it a bit with your hands (the fun part!).
8. Remove the pizza stone from the oven, lay your rolled dough on the stone, and drizzle with olive oil.  Layer on the prosciutto, peaches and goat cheese and bake until the pizza is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
9. Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with the fresh basil.  Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the pizza, cut, and serve.

What do you think?!? What would you put on top of prosciutto pizza??

I can’t wait to hear what you think!!

xo
Jilly