Kenny’s Pizza

My love… He builds stuff, he fixes stuff, he get’s up early to feed the cats in the morning, and he makes the best pizza.  This is his tried and true recipe, and like all good recipes these measurements are approximate, because he just knows what to do.  This recipe is the equivalent of Kenny’s favourite fishing spot, it’s his go-to, and ultimate crowd pleaser.  Much like his love for catching the finest fish, he’s happy to share and teach his secrets to anyone wanting to learn.

 Dough Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup semolina flour

1/4 cup cornmeal (and more for the bottom)

1/2 tsp salt

1 package traditional yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings

pizza sauce

Swedish fontina

asiago

leeks, sliced

red peppers, sliced

boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced

garlic, diced

pepperettes, sliced

Blend flour, semolina, corn starch, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Stir yeast into water and let sit for ten minutes until it’s foamy, and then add sugar.  Slowly add yeast mixture to flour, and blend.  Continue adding gradually until dough forms.  Use your hands to form a ball and knead for three to five minutes, adding more flour if required.

Coat a glass bowl generously with oil, and place dough inside.  Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm.  Let dough rise for a minimum of four hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Carefully remove dough from bowl, and place on a floured surface.  Form into desired shape and roll into a minimum of 1/2″.  Structure a ridge around perimeter of dough.

Working on a large cutting board lift one half of the dough up and carefully fold over to one side.   Generously coat underside with cornmeal, and repeat on opposite side.  This will help your prepared pizza roll off onto your pizza stone in the hot oven.

Using your hands coat the crust of the pizza with olive oil.

Preheat oven to 500°F and place pizza stone on middle rack.  In a frying pan cook chicken thoroughly.  Add leeks, garlic, red pepper and sauté until desired consistency is achieved, set aside.

Spread pizza sauce directly onto dough working in the middle to the edge.  Blend cheese together and evenly cover the sauce.  Add sautéed ingredients, pepperettes, and top with more cheese.

Carefully place pizza directly onto pizza stone in hot oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling.

We’ve had several variations of this pie, but the sweetness of the sautéed peppers, with the liveliness of the fontina is an impeccable combination.  All these flavours come together perfectly on this superb crust.  So, put whatever you like on this pizza because there’s no wrong answer! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  Cheers!