This pizza uses almost none of the standard pizza toppings and it tastes great.

Make it in a wood-fired pizza oven if you can, or use the highest temp available in your oven. Use convection if you have it.

Ingredients

Toppings

  • 1 small ripe apple, thinly sliced (it should be rather sweet)
  • 1/2 log goat cheese
  • a few ounces sliced grouier cheese
  • a few tablespoons pickled jalapeno s
  • 1/4 cup dried currants
  • A drizzle of honey if you have some
  • 1/4 cup crushed tomato
  • 1 tsp garlic salt in the tomatos
  • 1/2 tsp each red pepper and dried basil and oregano

Dough

  • 1 cup hard red spring wheat flour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (add some interesting crunch and body to the dough)
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

Proof the yeast with sugar and a little salt, add water and yeast mixture to flour. Coat with olive oil and let rise for one hour, knead, wait ten minutes and roll out on pizza pan using more flour or corn meal to prevent it from sticking.

Top with all other ingrediants, with tomato on the dough first. Don’t smother the dough with toppings.

Don’t over-do it on the tomato, 1/4 cup should be plenty – this isn’t a traditional red-sauce pizza. If you don’t have tomato, a bit of pizza sauce or a couple teaspoons of tomato paste will do. Mix the tomato paste with a little oil to help it spread.

Bake at 500 degrees F for ten minutes on a perforated pan if you can, or 600+ F in a pizza oven for about 5 minutes or when the crust turns golden. 425 F for around 12 minutes in a cheaper oven will work as well but won’t produce quite the crispy crust and toasted toppings.

Topping variations

You can go with just goat cheese or just grouier. Either will taste good with the apple.

Substituting Dried apples for fresh works, but make sure to break them up and place them under some other toppings to avoid drying too much during baking depending on their tenderness.

Pears, of course, are an excellent alternative to the apple.

Crust variations

For even better dough you can mix it up then knead, then let rise, then store refridgerated for six to twenty-four hours. You need to let it warm up and roll out and let rise before baking. This technique will give you the best results but it’s not essential. With this version you should probably skip the chia seeds.

Depending on your flour you may want to make your crust less dry. Try adding a teaspoon, up to a tablespoon of olive oil to the dough as you mix it.

If you have a lower maximum temperature oven you could try cooking in cast iron skillets or grills. Look up how to do this – maybe watch a video – it’s a bit different. You have to heat the pan first, then add the dough to the hot pan.