Me, hovering over the stovetop to snap a picture before I dive into the pizza
There’s a bottle of Mike’s Hot Honey sitting on my desk. Honey spiked with vinegar and chiles.
This spicy honey begs to swirled on cheesy pizza and if there’s bits of oven-toasted cured meat, even better. (For more food pairings, look here).
I made a quick, no-knead dough with a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour. Olive oil and a dash of cornmeal go onto the baking sheet before the dough to get a nice crust with color and texture.
The dough recipe makes enough for two pizza pies.
Sauce, fresh mozz, mushrooms, pepperoni, Parmesan, fresh oregano. Top with lots of honey. Enjoy with a big salad (whoops, not pictured, but this meal definitely calls for a big salad).
I had extra toppings leftover, so I just toasted some regular, whole wheat bread, spread it with the toppings, and popped it in the oven for 10 minutes. Another easy option if you don’t want to make the dough recipe.
Mushroom Pepperoni and Mozz Pizza with Mike’s Hot Honey
For the dough recipe, I used Joy’s version, which was based on Tracy’s version, which was originally from Jim Lahey’s book (it makes enough for 2 pizzas. You can freeze one or save it for the next day). I found the dough to be very shaggy. It ended up working, though, so just let it do it’s thing. I had to knead it one or two times to get it how I wanted.
**NOTE: This dough recipe needs about 2.5 hours to do it’s thing before it can go in the oven. Give yourself enough time if you are making your own dough.
Toppings (for 1 pizza):
3/4 cup sauce
3-4 oz ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/8 pound thin sliced pepperoni, cut into wedges or strips (I found pepperoni at the Whole Foods Deli, from Chestnut Valley Charcuterie)
1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded or grated
Toppings after the oven: fresh oregano, red pepper flakes, spicy honey
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450-500 degrees F.
Oil a 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, and sprinkle cornmeal over the oil. Place the 1 of the 2 dough balls on the pan and stretch and press the dough out into a flat rectangle. If the dough springs bag as you’re pressing it out, simply wait five minutes to allow the dough to rest and then try again. The dough should be very thin. If the dough tears, don’t worry, just press it back together.
Top the dough with sauce, cheeses, mushrooms, and pepperoni.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are charred and bubbling. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for a few moments then slice and top with fresh oregano, red pepper flakes, and spicy honey. Serve immediately, with a big salad.
Figsinmybelly 