I think Thursday begs for pizza.
Actually, Fridays always make me crave pizza. Truth check: every day calls for pizza, but as a KID, we seemed to always get pizza on Fridays. At the Pizza Hut. In my neon green jams, a banana clip in my permed hair and Def Leppard blaring on the juke box. POUR SOME SUGAH ON MAAAAY.
You know.
I guess the math of all of this is that you’re reading the post on Thursday, which means you can make the pizza on Friday, thus keeping the Earth spinning in the right direction.
I’m good at science.
The sauce is creamy roasted garlic. Did I already tell you? Two entire heads of garlic, roasted into submission, then whizzed in a food processor with a smooch of milk, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Very simple. Extremely divine. All for your face.
Overall this pizza is fairly painless. A few prep steps early in the day, and you’re just slinging it together when dinner time comes.
You’ll make the dough that morning, and let it rise and rest and rise and rest all afternoon. True fact: if you have dough rising on the counter, you’re doing things right in life. There’s nothing like saying, “I’m going to check the dough!” to. . . no one. But still.
If you buy sun dried tomatoes already chopped up, that saves you a wee bit of time. Other than that, you’ll brown the sausage, thinly slice some red onion and grate some mozzarella cheese. Ha-biggidy.
I am legit obsessed with this pizza. And I won’t call it a ‘za because I like having you in my life.
But are you seeing this? There is something so marital about sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and Italian sausage. I seriously might punch it in the knees.
It’s just . . . different! Comforting. Exciting. The flavors will be a nice change of pace for your tongue, given that the sauce isn’t tomato based. Instead, they’re basically little tart pockets on candy on your pizza. I KNOW you can get on board with this.
Like, I honestly can’t look at that photo without getting emotionally enraged. ^
POUR SOME PIZZA ON MAAAAAY.
That doesn’t quite work, does it.
Freaking please.
That’s it. I’m calling it a day.
Save RecipeIngredients
- for the dough:
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- for the toppings:
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus one drizzle for the roasting
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 links Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (a mandolin works great!)
- 1 (8 oz) block mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
Instructions
- In a small bowl, pour the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let it sit until the yeast is bubbly and foamy, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Pour the yeast water into the flour and stir to mix. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times, until it becomes a ball of sticky dough. Place back in a cleaned bowl, cover and let rise for about 3 hours. Punch it down, knead a few more times (it will be much smoother and more elastic by now), and let it rise again for another 2 to 3 hours. Divide dough into two mounds. Cover with a kitchen towel until you’re ready to roll out and top.
- Preheat the oven to 400. Slice the tops of the garlic heads off, exposing the cloves. Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the heads in a square of foil, and roast for 45 minutes. Once the garlic heads are cool enough to touch, squeeze the softened cloves into a small food processor. Add the milk, a pinch of salt and 2 Tbs. of oil. Whizz until smooth and blended.
- Brown the sausage in a skillet, crumbling with a wooden spoon.
- Now, roll your two pizza dough mounds out and place them each in a baking sheet. (You can roll the dough out thinner, if you’re fitting a larger baking sheet. Or smaller and thicker and if you’re making it smaller.) Nestle the edges of the pizza dough right up to the edges of the pan. It’s okay if it’s wonky looking. This is called RUSTIC.
- Evenly spread the roasted garlic sauce over each pizza. Top with Italian sausage, chopped sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, and the cheese. Place the pans back in the 400 degree and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh thyme (if you want!) and devour faster than you can say OMG.
- Makes two medium-pan pizzas.
Remember, you have the Earth’s rotation to keep in mind here. You know your job.
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