Thin and Crispy Spicy Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

We love a good pizza party in our house! My sweet toddler tried sausage and mushroom pizza the other day and has been asking me to make it ever since. Tonight I gave it a try, and we had a very memorable pizza party with our little family while we watched a Christmas movie. The crust on this pizza is crunchy and stands up well to the hearty toppings. Blanketed in spicy sausage, baby bellas and two kinds of cheese, this pizza will satisfy any pizza lover in your house!

Serves: 3-5

Pizza dough:

2 cups of warm water

2 1/3 cups bread flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

cornmeal and olive oil

Add the water and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Add salt and flour and mix until dough forms a ball (if it's too sticky, add a little more flour; if it's too dry, add a tiny bit more water). Cover and allow to rise for at least 2 hours. Rub the entire surface of either a pizza stone, pan or baking sheet (yes, this will do in a pickle; no need to go buy new equipment if you don't need to) with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with cornmeal. Stretch the dough using your hands (or you can cheat and use a rolling pin; I'll never tell on you) so that the dough extends to the edges of the pan.

Sauce:

You can use any sauce you'd like, but I typically freeze a simple marinara to use on pizzas. Here's my recipe:

1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce

3/4 cup red wine (I typically use cab)

3 minced garlic cloves

1/2 yellow onion, minced

6-8 baby portabella mushrooms, diced

kosher salt, black pepper

1 tbsp. red pepper flake (I like my sauce pretty spicy)

3 tbsp. olive oil

Saute onions and mushrooms over medium high heat in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flake and saute for one additional minute. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the wine by half, then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about an hour. Cool completely before adding to the pizza dough.

Toppings:

Go crazy here!

These are my favorites~ browned balls of hot Italian sausage (Johnsonville is actually pretty good. Apologies to my Sicilian Grampa and Great Uncle Joe for this transgression! I buy uncased sausage then pinch off little pieces and saute them in olive oil) & baby bella mushrooms. I add a layer of muenster (yes, you read that correctly...it melts like a dream!) on top of the sauce then a layer of mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan over the toppings (so it goes dough, sauce, muenster, toppings, mozzarella/parm).

Bake at 375 (this might vary based how hot your oven runs) until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is gently browned. Wear a bib and enjoy!