Sweet Sausage and Broccoli Pizza

I also played around with the crust a bit. Dough made with white flour felt too, well, white. It was almost tasteless when put up against the toppings. One hundred percent whole wheat dough is too dense and doesn’t roll well, so I made a dough using both wheat and white flour, and it came out just right. You can taste the nuttiness of the wheat, but it’s not like eating a rock.

So, here’s what you do.

Ingredients:

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, ground (if you can’t find sweet sausage, buy mild, and mix it, by hand, with about ½ cup brown sugar)
2 cups broccoli
red pepper flakes (optional)
1 recipe Whole Wheat dough
1 recipe Creamy Garlic Parmesan sauce

You’ll need to prepare the pizza dough first as it takes time to rise and rest. Once it’s done, make the sauce. Afterwards, cook sausage in a large skillet until done, and, in a separate pan, sauté broccoli until warmed, but still bright green. (I like to add red pepper flakes to my broccoli.) When all ingredients are prepared, roll your dough into desired size. At this point, you can also prebake your crust for about 5 minutes, to give it an extra crispness. Then spread the sauce evenly across the dough, and top with broccoli and sausage. You can, if you wish, sprinkle Parmesan over the top of the pizzas, but it really isn’t needed. Bake in a 350º oven for 10-12 minutes.

Whole Wheat Dough:

1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp. honey
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tbsp. butter or oil

Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl and let sit for five minutes. Stir in salt, then gradually add flours, mixing in as much as you can with a stiff spoon. Then, turn onto a floured surface and kneed in the rest until you have a smooth, yet stiff, ball. With melted butter, or oil, brush surface of dough. Place in a large bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until double, about one hour. Divide dough in two equal portions and roll into desired shape. Makes 2 medium, thin crust pizzas, or one extra large.

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Sauce:

1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
½ cup fresh (please, not out of the green can) shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, diced
pepper

Sauté garlic in a small amount of butter until golden. Add remaining butter. Allow to melt, then add flour, stirring until well incorporated. Add milk and Parmesan cheese. Stir until slightly thickened. Add pepper to taste.