Balsamic Mushroom Fontina Pizza

From: Half Baked Harvest

Homemade pizza dough with jammy fig preserves, balsamic mushrooms, and ricotta cheese. A fun way to spend a winter night!

Prep Time: 15 minutespi
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup room temperature beer (or warm water)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Mushroom Pizza

• 1/2 pound pizza dough
• 8 ounces mixed mushrooms, torn
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon fig preserves or apple butter
• 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup shaved fontina cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

For the Dough

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the beer and olive. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or up to overnight.

• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and use as directed in recipe.

Pizza!

• Position the oven rack in the upper 1/3 position. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. at least 30 minutes before baking, preferably 1-2 hours ahead. If you have a baking stone, start preheating it. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.

• In a medium bowl, combine the mushrooms, shallot, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Massage the mushrooms with your hands for 1 minute.

• On a lightly floured surface, push/roll the dough out until it is pretty thin (about a 10-12 inch circle). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

• Spread the dough with the ricotta and the preserves. Add the mushrooms. Top with crumbled blue cheese, then the shaved fontina.

• Slide into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pizza, and bake another 3-5 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted. Top the pizza with fresh thyme and drizzle with truffle oil. ENJOY!

Recipe Notes

Perfect Dough: To get the right consistency in your dough, start with your base amount of flour, then add more as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is smooth but not dry. It’s better to have a dough that’s on the slightly sticky side than a dough that’s too dry. It should be a bit loose; it should not feel dense or heavy.

See more at Half Baked Harvest