Alsatian Pizza With Bacon And Caramelized Onions Recipes

PIZZA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND CRISPY BACON

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• In a medium size saute pan, add olive oil and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the bacon and cook until the bacon is very crispy and all of the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan and discard. Place the pan over high heat. Add the onions to the hot bacon fat and cook until the onions are well browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
• In a small bowl, combine the mascarpone and farmer's cheeses. Season with nutmeg and black pepper. Reserve.
• On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll the dough as thinly as possible, about 14 to 15-inch circle. Evenly spread the mascarpone mixture over the dough. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, bacon, thyme, and sauteed onion. Bake until the pizza crust is nicely browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove pizza from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, cut into slices and serve immediately.
• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup warm water.
• In a food processor, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water and process until the mixture forms a ball. (The pizza dough can also be made in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until the mixture comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and starts to climb up the dough hook).
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand 2 or 3 minutes longer. The dough should be smooth and firm. Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a cool spot for about 2 hours. (When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled).
• Divide the dough into 4 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest 1 hour. At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

ALSATIAN PIZZA WITH BACON AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• 1. To make the pizza dough, in a bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Pull the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead a few times, then form into a ball. Oil a second bowl, put the ball in the bowl, and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free area. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1¿1 1/2 hours.
• 2. While the dough is rising, in a sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and stir once more. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• 3. At the same time, in a second sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• 4. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct grilling over medium-high heat. Brush and oil the grill grate.
• 5. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface, then divide in half. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out 1 half into a round 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) in diameter and about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. Repeat with the second half.
• 6. Slide 1 round onto a baker's peel or a rimless baking sheet dusted with cornmeal, and then carefully slide the round off the peel onto the grill directly over the fire. Repeat with the second round. Cook the crusts until the underside is well marked, about 2 minutes. Using the peel, transfer the crusts, grilled side up, back to the work surface.
• 7. Top each crust with half the onions, half the bacon, and then half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Using the peel, return the topped crusts to the grill, cover the grill, and cook until each crust is firm and browned at the edges and the cheese has melted a bit, 4-6 minutes.
• 8. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board and sprinkle with the thyme. Cut into wedges and serve at once.

CARAMELIZED ONION, BACON AND GRUYERE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F.
• In a large bowl mix together 2 cups of bread flour, sugar, salt, and Fleischmann's® RapidRise™ Yeast.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm water. Using your hands, mix everything together until it forms a dough. The dough will be sticky, but don't worry, it will come together once you knead it!
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes or until the texture of the dough starts to smooth out. If the dough feels too sticky, add remaining ¼ cup flour in a tablespoon at a time until the dough is dry enough to work with. Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover loosely with a dish cloth and put in a warm place to rise for just ten minutes.
• While the dough is rising, stir together the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside
• After ten minutes, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. We like to do this on a piece of parchment paper for easy clean up and transport. Stretch out dough into a 12 inch round. Use a pastry brush to brush the dough from the center all the way to the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture.
• Sprinkle with cheese and top with caramelized onions and crumbled bacon. Carefully take the pizza stone out of the oven and transfer the pizza onto the hot pizza stone and bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through. Take out when the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
• Let pizza cool for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy!

ONION, BACON AND CREAM PIZZA

Steps:

• 1. To make the dough, pour the water into a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix in the yeast and 1 cup of the flour, mix, then let sit at room temperature until the mixture begins to bubble, about 30 minutes. Add the salt, stir, then add an additional cup of flour. The dough should be quite soft. Cover and let sit at room temperature until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• 3. Divide the dough in half. Heavily flour a work surface, and roll out the dough to a 15 x 11-inch rectangle (the dough should be paper-thin except at the edges, where it will be slightly thicker.) Carefully transfer the dough to a well-floured baking sheet.
• 4. Mix the onions and the cream together in a medium-sized bowl and spread half on the dough. Sprinkle half the bacon evenly over the onions and cream. Repeat with the remaining dough, onions, cream, and bacon.
• 5. Bake the pizzas in the center of the preheated oven until the crust is golden and the onions soften and begin to turn golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. If you can't fit both pizzas on the center rack of the oven, switch them halfway through baking.
• 6. Remove the pizzas from the oven and slip them onto a work surface. Season with freshly ground black pepper, then cut into serving pieces.