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Avocado Corn & Egg Pizza

By: JoeC
Date: Sep 13, 2008 10:26 PM

Cuisine: American, Italian

Response to:

Basic Pizza Dough

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In Rome, my daily routine consisted of heavy walking starting at the crack of dawn, a gelato stop somewhere during the day and a midday pizza break, either at a restaurant in Trastevere or at the many pizza-by-the-slice shops all over town. I soon fell in love with a romantic notion of the pizzaiola, or pizza maker. Watching those carefree pizza makers toss, stretch and caress the elastic dough made me long for a similar devotion to a craft or passion. More than chefs or cooks, these were standard bearers of a tradition, in cuisine, art and lifestyle. Returning home to the United States, I found myself thinking more and more about those hot summer days under the Roman sun. Figuring I could whisk mind and soul back to those memories through cuisine, I embarked on a quest to make pizza, not of Rome, but my own style, topped with the great cheeses and produce of California. Soon, Sunday evenings became pizza night.

Prep and Cook

Ingredients

Servings: 3
Prep Time: 150 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Cook Method: Bake

9 ounces water, warm
2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
15 ounces bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces tomato sauce
4 ounces corn
4 ounces avocado
4 ounces crimini mushrooms
5 ounces mozzarella cheese
2 eggs

Instructions

Combine the water, yeast and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil, salt and remaining flour. Work the ingredients together into a ball.
Spread some bench flour on the work surface and knead the dough on the surface until it has a smooth, tight skin and feels springy or elastic. You should be able to see through it without tearing it when you stretch a thin piece with your thumbs. Though sticky and wet dough is difficult to knead and handle, it will develop better flavor during the fermentation and rise.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest until it doubles in volume. This will take about 1 hour, but it will depend on the temperature and humidity in the kitchen.
Once the dough finishes its initial rise, punch it down on a floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll them into balls. Cover them with a moist towel to proof for a second rise. Wait for them to get close to double their size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Place your baking stone inside the oven and remove other racks. Preheat the oven to 500-degrees Fahrenheit or the highest possible temperature.
After the dough has proofed, you can roll out the dough into a round pizza shape or hand stretch it by making fists with both hands and propping the dough on your knuckles. Gently pull your hands away from each other as you rotate the dough. Be sure to use plenty of bench flour on your hands, the work surface and the dough because it is very wet and sticky. Move slow and decisively to prevent tearing the dough. For a thinner pizza, keep stretching it until it is between 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick.
Spread some flour on a pizza wheel, then some cornmeal and lay the dough on the pizza wheel. Shake the wheel to make sure nothing sticks.
Start topping the pizza by tearing or slicing rounds of fresh mozzarella and laying them on the dough. The mozzarella will act as a buffer between the dough and the sauce so things do not get soggy. Use 2 1/2 ounces per pizza.
Next, spoon or ladle 3 ounces of sauce on each pizza, then lay the avocado strips around the pizza. Sprinkle the corn and mushrooms over the pizza.
Using a pizza wheel, slide the pizza onto the pizza stone by pushing the stone forward, then jerking it back in one quick motion. The pizza will bake for about 12 minutes.
With two minutes remaining, crack an egg in a bowl and pull the pizza out of the oven and pour the egg onto the middle of the pizza. Quickly place the pizza back in the oven and watch for the egg to set. The pizza crust should be charred and the cheese should be bubbling. Once the egg sets, remove the pizza and place on a cutting board to slice. In the meantime, prepare the second pizza in the same way and slide it into the oven.