Bake-Along #44: Spinach Artichoke Pizza (with no fuss crust!)

A no fuss pizza crust to make dinner a little easier! For tips and to bake-along live, just follow along with the video.

Prep: 30 minutes

Proof: 8 hours + 2 hours

Assembly + Bake: 10 + 15 minutes

Spinach Artichoke Pizza Ingredients:

Yield: 1 10-inch pizza

Pizza Crust:

1 & 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 t salt

3/4 cup water

2 t olive oil

3/4 t active dry yeast

Parmesan Garlic White Sauce

1 T unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 T all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole milk

2 T freshly grated Parmesan

Salt & pepper to taste

Toppings:

Mozzarella cheese

Spinach sauteed and seasoned*

Canned artichoke quarters

Fresh herbs for after the bake (I had some micro basil!)

Tools:

10 inch cast iron, cake round, or any similarly sized pan*

1. Make the crust: put all ingredients into a large bowl and combine gently by hand. You can see my process at the 1:13 mark.

2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for a minimum of 6 hours (check out my dough after 8 hours at the 1:52 mark).

3. Add about 2 T of olive oil to your baking pan and then rub more olive oil all over your hands. Use your hands to spread the oil around the pan and to make sure every part of the pan is well-coated.

4. Form the dough into a ball by tucking the edges of the dough into the center of the bottom of your dough ball. (You can see this entire process beginning at the 2:10 mark).

5. Put the dough into the oiled pan and turn the dough around, coating the dough in oil.

6. Continue tucking the edges of the dough into the center of the bottom of your dough ball until you have a smooth, even ball of pizza dough.

7. Place the dough into the center of your oiled pan and gently push the circumference of the dough towards the outer edge of the pan, just a little bit to encourage the dough to spread. Cover your pan with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 more hours.

8. Begin your pizza sauce: melt the butter in a pan and, once hot, add your minced garlic. Cook for just a minute or two until the garlic becomes fragrant.

9. Add your flour to the butter and whisk together, allowing the flour to cook for 2 minutes.

10. Gradually add your whole milk to the butter mixture, whisking to combine.

11. After all your milk is added continuing whisking until your sauce has thickened. This could take up to 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the milk burn on the bottom of the pan. This sauce will also thicken more as it cools.

12. Pull the sauce off the heat and stir in your Parmesan.

13. Add salt and pepper to taste (if you like the way it tastes here you'll like it on your pizza!)

14. Pour your sauce into a bowl and allow to cool. You can see my sauce's thickness at the 8:59 mark.

15. Once the dough has rested, oil you hands again and pop any bubbles that may have formed. Gently ease the dough, pushing and stretching it until it fills the bottom of the pan. You can watch my technique at the 9:29 mark.

16. Pre-heat oven to 450°F.

17. Next evenly spread your sauce on top of the pizza dough. Add mozzarella cheese and toppings to your heart's content. If you are using any fresh herbs like basil, put those on after baking the pizza.

18. Bake the pizza for 10-20 minutes until the crust is just golden (you can go longer if you'd like!). I turned my pan around after 10 minutes to see its progress.

19. Allow to cool for five minutes before gently easing it out of the pan and onto a cutting board (if you want to see how I do this, head to the 12:28 mark).

20. Add on any fresh herb toppings and perhaps some extra freshly grated Parmesan and enjoy every piping hot bite!

Notes:

• *You can go for fresh spinach here! I like having it sauteed and seasoned. You can also use frozen spinach that has been thawed.

• I like to think of this as a perfect leftover dinner! You can make the crust and then raid your fridge for whatever ingredients you have. I had leftover spinach and artichoke from work so I settled on a cream sauce, but go for pesto, BBQ, or marinara!