Pizza with Bacon, Scallions, Parmesan, and Tomato

Recipe: Pizza with Bacon, Scallions, Parmesan, and Tomato
Page: 116
Date Cooked: January 14, 2011

Great pizza is a God send and can be very difficult to find. The right crust, the right amount of toppings, and of course the perfect topping combination - you need it all for a great pizza. This was the first time I had attempted to make pizza dough and was worried I would mess it all up (the dough IS one the best parts). Luckily, that wasn't the case.

Ingredients: Unbleached all purpose-flour, honey, olive oil, active dry yeast, salt, bacon, scallions, tomatoes, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, black pepper

Well you can't have a pizza without the base, hence dough preparation was the first step. Some flour, honey, warm water, olive oil, and yeast were added to a bowl and mixed together. This mixture was to sit in a warm place for 1 hour until it doubled in size. Being as it was my first attempt at making pizza dough, I documented this hour carefully.

Pizza dough sponge mixture at 20 minute intervals

After the hour, additional flour was added along with some salt; and the dough was kneaded. Jonathan Waxman makes note that "the dough should be moist, not dry." At this point, I was little worried because the dough appeared to be really moist, but I went with it. The bowl was covered and set aside for 2 hours for another round of doubling.

Left: Dough after kneading
Right: Dough after 2 hours - it doubled!

Once the dough was ready, the oven was set to preheat, and the toppings got some attention.

From Left to Right: Sliced scallions. Diced tomatoes. Diced bacon.

The dough was rolled out on a floured surface to about a 12-inch round. It was then sprinkled with the bacon, scallions, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. Finally it was topped with some olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

Pizza ready for the oven

While the pizza baked, the smells were simply intoxicating - the dough, the bacon, and the tomatoes wafted throughout my house. Once I saw that the crust was a perfect golden brown, I knew it was ready to eat.

Pizza with Bacon, Scallions, Parmesan, and Tomato

I savored this pizza. It was soo good. The crust was just perfect. Simple but perfect. The flavor combination was also exactly what I never knew I wanted. Bacon is always a good choice. And tomatoes and Parmesan are quite predictable. But the use of scallions over other onions really made the pizza. You got the onion flavor without feeling like you were eating just onions. Every topping complimented the other.

I am now convinced that making pizza from scratch is the way to go. While it may seem like it takes time. Much of that time is spent waiting and the kind of waiting that doesn't require you to really do anything. Another great recipe. Another keeper.

And for all you pizza lovers, here is a close-up of the ingredients. Seeing this is just making me hungry again!

Pizza Close-Up

Enjoy!