Fig Prosciutto Pizza
Wheat is often thought of as an empty, flavorless grain. It gets so much bad press these days.
Last summer my family tried to go gluten-free, just to see if we would feel any different. After buying all the alternate flours and binders, blending popular baking mixes, bagging, storing, and baking, I was exhausted… And a little let down, if I’m being honest.
It was amazing how much we actually missed the texture and flavor of wheat.
Yes, wheat has it’s own flavor, a mellow, earthy tone that is truly distinct. Maybe we are overly addicted to it in the USA. Maybe it is a “cheap” grain with less nutritional value, but none-the-less I like it. A lot.
After much experimentation with ingredients and contemplation, I made a decision. Since no one in my family had celiacs disease, autism, IBS, wheat allergies, or any other condition said to be effected by wheat consumption, we were going back, in moderation.
I do buy organic wheat flour to eliminate gmos and pesticides, but I don’t think I will ever give up wheat completely.
Oh, the warm yeasty smell of wheat dough filling my house as it rises and bakes. There is just nothing quite as comforting as that aroma. Let’s not overlook the matter of the yeast, lending it’s own appealing flavor.
I simply like the idea of yeast…it’s a living organism, lying in wait to activate and infiltrate whatever it is added to. It is discreetly infectious.
Our lives are this way. Surely we have all witnessed gossip or a bad attitude work it’s dark magic through a crowd. Yet I like to think of yeast’s qualities in a positive light, causing action, expansion, elevation, and enlightenment.
I often try to self-evaluate with this in mind. We are always effecting others in some way, whether we mean to or not.
Does my life’s message and my attitude promote positive motivation and inspiration in those around me? Or do I breed negativity, contempt, and apathy? There are times when this can be a hard question to ask yourself.
Back to the baking… Yeast is the best ingredient to add when trying to produce a light, airy bread product. It is a single-celled fungus that converts sugar and starch into carbon dioxide bubbles. These bubbles lift the bread and create the pores throughout it.
You shouldn’t eat raw yeast, since it will continue to grow in your digestive system and steal nutrients from your body. But once deactivated in the oven (or through pasteurization), yeast is a healthy food product. Some yeasts are even sold as nutritional supplements.
Today I’m using my beloved wheat flour and yeast to make an amazing bubbly crust for Fig Prosciutto Pizza.
Pizza dough is essentially a white bread dough with added olive oil. The oil produces a richer flavor, and denser crust with more pull when you bite it.
How you handle the dough makes a difference in texture as well. The more you knead your dough, the more “pull” you will create. This is essential for pizza crust.
The toppings for this Fig Prosciutto Pizza are a savory sweet blend of fig preserves, sliced prosciutto, fresh arugula, pine nuts, and cheeses.
They offer a salty bite with a touch of sweetness that makes this Fig Prosciutto Pizza a winner as both dinner or as an appetizer at a cocktail party.
You are going to love this!
Fig Prosciutto Pizza
Ingredients
For the Crust:
Instructions
- For dough: Place 1/2 cup of warm water in your electric mixing bowl. Add the yeast and allow it to swell for 5 minutes. It should look foamy. Then add 1 1/4 cups of room-temperature water, plus the oil and salt. Using a bread hook, mix on low, adding the flour a little at a time. “Knead” in the mixer for 2-3 minutes until well combined but tacky. Oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to cover the dough in oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
- When the dough is more than double the original size, punch it down and place it on a floured work surface. Divide into two equal pieces. Use your hands to turn the edges of the dough under to create a perfectly round, smooth mounds. Either roll from the middle out, or hand-stretch the dough to a large 18-inch circle. Be careful not to tear the dough.
- Place both pizza crusts on pieces of parchment paper and liberally oil the pizza crusts. Allow the crusts to rest. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, and place two round pizza stones or two flat cookie sheets on the middle two racks to preheat.
- Spread half the fig preserves over each pizza crust. Top each crust with sliced prosciutto, fresh arugula, crumbled goat cheese, shredded mozzarella, fresh thyme, and pine nuts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is bubbly. Cut and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
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I add some halved, dried figs and cook the pizza before adding the prosciutto and arugula. Then drizzle with some “good” balsamic. Love this pizza!
Figs and prosciutto with goat cheese is a stunning flavour combination so I am very keen to try it on a pizza.
I love the combo of figs and prosciutto on anything or even by themselves. What a great idea! Saving this one for later.
I made this tonight! I used the dough recipe, and it turned out perrfect! I’ve made pizza dough before, but it had never ‘puffed’ up and doubled in size! and this one totally did. thanks for the recipe!
This is my favorite kind of pizza to make. Have you tried using dried figs? I love figs too and I'm working on a recipe with my favorite combo of dried mission figs, goat cheese and sourwood honey . You may not have fresh figs very much in Asheville but your live in the best town! I love visiting the farmers market over at UNC Asheville. So cool!
What a perfect and delightful pizza!
On Sunday morning we decided to have an impromptu get together with friends in the evening. My menu was planned but I was unable to find any cuts of prime rib at any of my local stores. Lucky for me and my guest I had stocked up on the ingredients to make this dish.
So around 4 I start making my dough only to have my dear sweet hubby talk to me right as I am slowly adding the flour. In that split second of forgetfulness I knew that this could be bad. Was that cup number 5 or 6? Sure enough, 1 extra cup was added. After my “sweet” explanation of the importance of not distracting me while measuring the 2nd attempt was perfect.
A few hours later everyone was gathered around the counter as I rolled and topped the pizzas. I had to fight off a few contenders as they tried to sneak the pine nuts and goat cheese toppings. They were all eagerly anticipating the finished product.
The smell was wonderful and 12 minutes later the beautiful pie emerged. Everyone dug in and couldn’t stop raving on how delicious it was. On the way out one of the guest leaned over and said. This pizza is best described as sex on dough. Not only do you inspire our taste buds you also bring out the passion in people.
I know this is an old post (2010) but in the event anyone is reading it, whenever I need more than 2 or 3 cups of sugar or flour in a recipe I always measure the entire amount first into a separate bowl. That way if I lose count I don’t jeopardize any other ingredients I may have measured previously and/or the amount I was attempting to add. If I lose count in a separate bowl, all I have to do is dump it back into the flour container and start over.
They usually take around 6 hours to thaw and rise to double the original size.
Sommer – how far in advance do you need to defrost the frozen dough? We made four crusts today and froze them!
Tami
I am loving your recipes!!! Cayenne brownies!?! Fig proscuitto pizza! I also love wheat, and I like to think it can be quite sophisticated – so much rich history and countless varieties capable of creating such a vast array of amazing foods! Homemade pizza is a staple in our home, and I am so excited to give this a try!