Pesto and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza

When I worked at Whole Foods Markets in Tribeca that's when I learned about a bevy a new foods, I mean I always tried to keep abreast of old and new things to devour in the food world but having a new job in a natural and organic market gave me the chance to learn about new things on a consistent basis and also be able to afford it. My area at work was in the cafe operated by the bakery section and we used to make crepes both sweet and savory. One of my favorites was the tomato, pesto, and smoked mozzarella. From first taste I fell in love with smoked mozzarella from first bite and always bought it when given the chance.
Though I no longer work at whole foods and hardly shop there since Sahadi's in Brooklyn is much cheaper stocking the same specialty items I need. When I went on my last pizza making adventure I decided to try something different and took inspiration from my favorite crepe. I used the same dough recipe from A Year in Bread blog, and my pesto was store bought but you can make your own at home

Pesto and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza

Pizza Dough

bread flour 3 c 700 ml 15 oz 424 g (plus a little more added while kneading the dough)

instant yeast 1 tsp 5 ml 1/8 oz 3 g

salt 2 tsp 10 ml 3/8 oz 10 g

lukewarm water (about 90F, 32C) 1 1/3 c 315 ml 11 1/2 oz 325 g

Place the bread flour in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until a soft, but not sticky, dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for 3 minutes, sprinkling with a little flour each time it sticks to your hands or the counter. The dough should be quite soft. (Just knead it by hand. It's easier and faster than getting out your big electric mixer. Yes, Kevin, this means even you.) 

Liberally sprinkle the mixing bowl with flour, place the dough back in it, and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Cover with a damp tea towel or cloth napkin and set in a warm place for two hours.

After about an hour, place a baking stone on the lowest rack in the oven, and set the temperature at 500 degrees. (You never want to put a cold baking stone into a hot oven as it may crack.)

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide it into two or four pieces. (I use a pastry scraper, sometimes called a dough scraper or bench scraper, which is a handly little gizmo that is also great for cleaning off my butcher block countertop). Flatten each piece of dough into a disk and let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Pizza Topping

1/2 cup pesto sauce

1 cup of smoked mozzarella, sliced

On prepared pizza dough, spread pesto sauce on dough and top with slices of  smoked mozzarella

Bake until crust is browned.