Piece-a Heaven

Team: Cookie Ninjas

Host School: Randolph Elementary School

Age Group: Middle School

Ingredients

Pizza Dough (prepared ahead of time, frozen, and defrosted for day of cooking)

  • 1 1/2 cup very warm water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups white whole wheat flour

Pizza Sauce (prepared ahead of time, frozen, and defrosted for day of cooking)

  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion or about 1 medium onion
  • 1/2 head of garlic (about 6 cloves or 1/4 cup crushed fresh garlic)
  • 40 oz. or 1 1/2 boxes chopped tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 3/8 tsp fennel seeds
  • 3/4 tsp pepper
  • 3/4 tsp dried rosemary

Toppings

  • 1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • Kosher salt for sprinkling
  • 4-5 carrots, scrubbed
  • 3/8 tsp dried basil
  • 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese
  • 2 cup fresh spinach leaves

Preparation Instructions

Pizza Dough

  1. Dissolve the honey in the warm water.  Add the yeast and stir. Wait 5 minutes.
  2. Add the bread flour.  Wait about 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to look bubbly.
  3. Add the olive oil and salt and mix well.
  4. Add the white whole wheat flour and mix well.  Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
  5. Knead the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface until dough comes together well and is slightly springy.
  6. Oil a clean bowl, place dough ball inside, cover with a clean towel, and set aside in a warm spot to let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
  7. Shape into pizza crusts now or freeze for later date.

Pizza Sauce

  1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. 
  2. Add the onions and saute 1-2 minutes.  Turn heat down to medium low and saute until onions are golden, about 8 minutes.
  3. Crush the garlic into the saucepan and stir contantly for 1-2 minutes.  Don't let the garlic burn.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, longer if you have the time to wait.

Making Your Pizza

  1. Chop the carrots into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
  2. Coat the carrots with 1 Tbsp of olive oil and the basil.  Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
  3. Slice the garlic into thin slices.
  4. Divide the pizza dough into 6 equal sized circles.
  5. Press the slices of garlic along the edges of the dough.
  6. Brush the dough and garlic with 3 Tbsp of olive oil.
  7. Sprinkle the edges of the dough with kosher salt.
  8. Bake on baking sheets for 10 minutes.
  9. Grate mozzarella cheese.
  10. When the carrots are done (after the 20 minutes), remove from oven and set aside.
  11. After prebaking the crusts, remove from oven. Spread 1/2 cup pizza sauce on each crust.
  12. Spread 1/3 cup cheese evenly on each crust.
  13. Decorate with spinach leaves and roasted carrot circles.
  14. Bake your pizzas until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.
  15. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, slice, and enjoy!