Jeremy gave me a fancy square pizza stone, and these topping recipes came with it.

Yes, we are free to put whatever we want on top of our thin piece of dough, but sometimes it's nice to have some guidance.

This first one is low fat, and I think it would make a nice pasta sauce, and so would the second recipe with sausage.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza Topping

1 cup eggplant, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 pound fresh plum tomatoes, each cut into 8 pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped zucchini
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
(2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put all ingredients but olive oil and cheese into a large baking pan. Drizzle on the olive oil and toss well. Roast in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and toss well. Return to oven for 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Spread vegetables evenly over a 13 - 14 inch pizza shell. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese. Bake pizza on preheated stone for 10 to 15 minutes until crisp and browned.


Sweet Italian Sausage Topping
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic thinly sliced vertically
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed
2 (28 oz) cans Italian plum tomatoes, chopped and drained well
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or romano cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated

In a large, deep fry pan, lightly brown the garlic in the oil, being careful not to burn it. Discard it. Add onion, crumbled sausage, and fennel seed to the oil in the pan and saute over medium-high heat until the sausage is browned. Drain all liquid from the pan. Add the well-drained tomatoes, 1/4 cup cheese, oregano, basil, and salt. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 25 minutes to reduce liquid. Cool down the sauce. (It can be made ahead.) Spoon half of the topping on a 13 - 14 inch pizza shell using a slotted spoon. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. For the pizza stone, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Slide the filled pizza onto the stone and turn the oven down to 450 - 475 degrees and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is crisp and brown.

Here is a recipe for the dough:

1 package dried yeast (scant 1 tablespoon)
1 cup very warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
Extra flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Gradually in half the yeast mixture into the well with your fingers. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and gradually work in the rest of the yeast mixture. Add a tablespoon or more water, if needed, to make dough soft and smooth.

Turn out onto a flat surface and knead vigorously for 10 minutes, pushing dough away from you, then folding it back toward you, until it is smooth and elastic with a dull sheen. (Or using a dough hook on an electric stand mixer, knead for 7 - 8 minutes.) Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning over to grease the top. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.

Divide the dough in half (it can be frozen at this point). Roll and stretch each half into a 13 to 14 inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick, with the edges slightly thicker.

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This is a lot of technique. Of course I have to try it this way to see if it makes a difference over just putting it all together the usual way. Sometimes I pre-bake the crust a little bit.

I've seen recipes that say for a thin, crisp crust you should refrigerate the dough for 24 hours. I've tried this, and I guess it makes a difference. I haven't been totally satisfied with it - it's not like the Wolfgang Puck restaurant pizza I've had in Las Vegas.

By the way, lately on the food shows they have been referring to what looks like pizza as flat bread. We have to keep up with the trends.