Fresh pizza dough (Recipe: peachy mama pizza)

Never let it be said that Rhode Islanders don't know their pizza.

Pizza is a way of life here. On Federal Hill, the most Italian neighborhood in the most Italian state in the country, even the local bar grills pizza in a wood-fired oven. Thick crust or thin, from North Providence to Newport, you can find above-average pizza everywhere, including in our middle-of-nowhere village five miles up the road.

And, because we love our pizza, every market sells fresh pizza dough, often from the local pizzeria or from a comissary not more than a few minutes from the store.

I hope you can find ready-to-use pizza dough in your regular grocery store; it's a great convenience food that will help you get a healthy, original pizza on the table in minutes. My local market stocks white, whole wheat, and organic variations.

You can purchase white or whole wheat pizza shells, too, if you like your pizza round and thin. I'm partial to the freeform shapes I can get by rolling out the dough myself; I like to control the thickness of the pizza crust, and sometimes to fold in cheese or herbs or a sprinkling of crunchy salt and black pepper. And the dough is more versatile than the pizza shells.

Keep fresh pizza dough wrapped in a plastic bag, in the coldest part of your refrigerator. If you don't plan to use it within a day or two of purchase, store it in the freezer so the yeast doesn't start to ferment, which will make your dough taste a bit like beer. Defrost the dough in the fridge, and bring it to room temperature, to allow the gluten to relax, before you try to roll it out.

Whether your dough is store-bought, or homemade like my favorite easy whole wheat pizza dough, you'll love having it on hand for spur-of-the-moment calzones, spirals, tomato and mozzarella rolls, or pizza in a bite. And for pizza, of course, topped with good things from your pantry: tomato and pesto, garlic and shrimp, bacon and eggs, or maybe ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Peachy Mama pizza

I could eat this every day of the week, and twice on my birthday. My friend Julia, of Grow.Cook.Eat., gave me the peppers -- my first taste of peachy mamas -- and Peter, who guest blogs from his pousada in Brazil, made the pizza in my kitchen last month. Proportions are approximate; use as much or as little of each ingredient as looks good to you. Serves 2 for lunch, 6 as an appetizer.

Ingredients

1/2 lb fresh pizza dough
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium sweet or red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup butternut squash, cut into thin strips or small dice
Cornmeal, for the pan
1/3 cup total shredded cheddar and gouda (or your favorite cheeses)
3 Tbsp chopped peachy mama or roasted red pepper strips
Drizzle of olive oil
Sprinkling of fresh coarsely-ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F, and take dough out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature.

In a small nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tsp of oil, and add the sliced onion. Cook over low heat for 10-12 minutes, until onions are lightly caramelized. Remove the onions to a plate, and add another tsp of oil to the pan. Add the squash, and saute until browned and caramelized. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Flour your work surface, and roll out the dough as thin as you like it, less than 1/2 inch thick. On a flat baking sheet, sprinkle cornmeal (it will act like ball bearings to keep your pizza from sticking). Lay the dough on the baking sheet. Spread the cheese all around on top of the dough. Arrange onions and squash around the surface. Sprinkle peachy mamas here and there. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, and season with black pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned. Serve hot.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Pizza bianca
One-rise pizza dough
Scallion pancake pizza
Pasta puttanesca
Asparagus-gruyere tart

Comments

Happy birthday!! My favorite b'day gift this year was a copy of Dorie Greenspan's Baking cookbook. :-)

May your year bring you all the goodies you can eat!

I love the use of the peachy mama peppers on the pizza--although it got me to thinking about how good peaches would be on a pizza too! :)

I think it is great that you are passing on your cookbooks. That is a great way to recycle.

Happy birthday ! Im usually just a lurker but figured I better get in on the action =)
Keep up the good work , I love love love you saturday pantry postings!

Happy Birthday! I love cookbooks - it's like reading a great book.

Happy Birthday.

I love Barefoot Contessa cookbooks...

And basically any cookbooks with beautiful photography.

Happy birthday! Love the site. I have been using your whole wheat pizza dough recipe for months!! Thanks for the different topping ideas.

Peaches (the fruit) on pizza make a great "Breakfast Pizza". While camping with the kids I used to make the pizza dough, spread on oiled tin foil, grill it for a bit, then spread cream cheese and peaches &/or necatarines on the cream cheese, then close up the tin foil and cook on the grill for until the dough is cooked. (sometimes I would stew the fruit first). Very tasty!

Happy Birthday. My favorite pizza is Italian Sausage.

Happy B-Day! I think my favorite pizza has white garlic sauce, chicken, onions and mushrooms. Yummy!

Happy Birthday! DH and I just spent a weekend in Providence and visited Federal Hill. Unfortunately we didn't have pizza on Federal Hill. We did have cupcakes at Nancy's Fancies. I would love to win one of your cookbooks.

Happy Birthday, Lydia!! And a girl can NEVER have too many cookbooks! :) Enjoy your day!

I love a good crispy Margarita Pizza, Yum!

Happy birthday. And thanks for the chance to win a cookbook. I love just looking thru cookbooks I see all the possiblities.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I know it is not very original, but I have to admit my favorite pizza will always be pepperoni and mushroom. I love cookbooks also, I don't have that many myself, but I do have my grandmother as well as my mama's recipe boxes!

What a great birthday present for your readers! I'm so jealous of the easy availability of whole wheat pizza dough!

I hope you're having fun in NY and will have a fantastic birthday too.

Happy Birthday, Lydia! Peaches on pizza? I'll have to give that a try.

Man, I would love a cookbook! I get so overwhelmed whenever I try to buy one for myself, since they all seem absolutely necessary and I usually end up not buying anything at all.

Everyone: I love your pizza suggestions -- so many new combinations to try. And to all who've left notes about their favorite cookbooks, well, let's just say I'm making a list and taking it with me when I do my birthday shopping!

I hope you'll be enjoying your Peachy Mama Pizza twice tomorrow - happy birthday, Lydia! :-)

Happy Birthday! My current favorite cookbook is Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian--many of our favorite meals have come out of it.

I just had to get another bookcase just for my cookbooks!!
Happy Birthday and thanks for the opportunity.

Happy Happy Birthday! Enyoy your special day.

Favorite Pizza - White Seafood with Shrimp and Scallops and Fresh Basil.... YUM!
Will have to add some of those peppers next time.

Oh happy birthday Lydia!!! I hope its the best, brightest, most beautiful birthday ever!

No cookbooks for me, I already have too many, but I'll take the recipe, it's perfect. Happy happy!!
xoxo

Right now, one of my favorite cookbooks is 150 Best American recipes. Also really enjoying The Gift of Southern Cooking and Laurie Colwins two books, Home Cooking and More Home Cooking.

Happy Birthday! Nan

Happy Birthday! My favorite pizza is one that I only get to eat when I am at Rehoboth Beach, DE. It's Grotto's White Pizza - so garlicky, and cheesy, and delicious! I am already thinking about the week of July 5th (when I can eat some again!)

Warmest birthday wishes, Lydia! The giveaway idea is very generous - thank you for the chance.

I make whole wheat pizza at home at least 3 times a month - it's a real treat. I use Peter Reinhart's recipe and even though it takes 2 days to make, the steps are foolproof and don't take much time. Depending on the season, I like to top my pizza with whatever is fresh and local. I love calling friends over for "pizza night" - I supply the dough and wine and folks just bring their favorite topping(s). Add a glass of wine or two and it makes for a great evening with friends.

So generous of you to share your cookbooks, thank you so much! I love vegetarian cookbooks! The best Birthday present I ever got was about 15 years ago when my hubby MADE me an edible island made of fruit and veggies. For instance the palm tree was a carrot with the top made of a sculpted cut out green pepper. It took him countless hours and it was gorgeous. He served it on a silver platter! I don't eat cake.. so it was a labor of love! How Blessed am I??

I LOVE the idea of this pizza! And I've had a lump of dough frozen in the freezer until pizza inspiration hit. Thanks!

Happy birthday Lydia! I would give you a pizza with sauteed apples, ricotta, and cinnamon, and candles on top.

I love a good cookbook, so I can't help but comment. Happy birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!

The other day my friend brought me some fresh Mexican chorizo. SO we made a pizza with chorizo, monterey jack cheese and bell peppers. OMG it was delicious. Right now that my favorite pizza

Happy birthday and many, many more! I might have to take a road trip over to Federal Hill this weekend for some good pie!

Happiest of birthdays Lydia!! Love the pizza photo and thanks for the cookbook giveaway opportunity! Hope I get one! :)

Happy Birthday! My favorite pizza has mushrooms, red onions, bananna peppers and sometimes ham. Yum!

Happy Birthday! I do hope someone spoiled you on your special day?

I love making my own pizza dough, but to be honest I think Whole Foods pizza dough is pretty darn good. Stop & Shop was horrid!

My favourite pizza is homemade herb dough, with tomato sauce, mozerella, anchovies, purple onions, rosemary and tomatoes.
Happy Birthday!

ooh, i made a grilled peach pizza over the summer, but it was a dessert version, not a savory one - yum.,

and i can always use another cookbook, what with the point of my blog and all.

oh, and happy birthday!

Happy belated birthday! My favourite pizza has to be the Alsatian pizza, a "white" pizza with creme fraiche and yoghurt, dressed with onions and bacon bits.
Can't wait to hear which cookbooks you got!

Happy Birthday, Lydia! How sweet of you to do this giveaway. I don't have half the cookbooks I want so I hope I win!

Unfortunately I cannot get pizza dough here but the bread machine and I do a great job. We like to BBQ pizza on lazy Sunday afternoons with toppings from whatever is in the fridge.
Cookbooks, yesterday I bought five! I have full book shelves here in China, and many, many more in storage waiting for me to move back to the states. Buying and reading cookbooks is like pampering myself. In fact I will be cuddling up with the new ones this afternoon with a nice cup of tea. ;)

How do you think avocado slices would survive baking in the oven? I would love to try them on a pizza! Have a great birthday!

Happy Birthday! Hope you get lots of good cookbooks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYDIA!
I buy the same Federal Hill Pizza Dough you do! I get mine from Dave's Market in EG. The whole wheat is my favorite. We make lots of grilled pizzas, even in the winter. I made 4 a few weeks ago. How 'bout Chicken Alfredo Pizza or a Funky Chunky Monkey Pizza? They were awesome!

Oh, am I too late?! I hope not! And a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! What a delicious looking pizza. Thanks for the recipe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Currently my favorite cookbook is a little book put together by my husband's grandmother. She just passed away in August and I've been starting to make some of the recipes in her book. I love discovering and getting to know the flavors that she loved so much and feel like I'm getting to know a bit more about the woman that she was in the process.

I love pepperoni and sausage pizza but I also like dessert pizza made with apple pie filling. Thank you so much for the giveaway. I hope your birthday is a happy one and you have many many more.

My mom makes this delicious buffalo chicken pizza with a crumbled blue cheese. It's great!