I have a new love for pizza, granted I have ALWAYS loved pizza, but since discovering white pizzas I just love them. I love to order them both out and make them at home.

When hanging out with my mom a few weeks ago she told me about a new white sauce recipe she had discovered. When she told me it was mayo, Parmesan, and ranch dressing I didn’t really believe her. But then again she has never lead me astray. So I went for it.

It made an AWESOME sauce, you could not taste the mayo, it was more a parmesany ranchy taste. Very yummy, and went perfect on the white pizza. I also tried a new dough recipe… actually Adam tried a dough recipe. It was a good dough, but didn’t brown up quiet like other doughs I have made.

Whole Grain Pizza Crust (From: Branny Boils Over)

• 1.5 cups warm water, divided
• 1 T active dry yeast
• 1 t honey
• 2 cups flour (I used all white as I had no wheat)
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• ¾ t coarse salt
• 2 t olive oil

Stir yeast into ½ cup warm water.  Add honey and let stand 5 minutes.  Place flours in food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Add salt and pulse.  Pour in yeast mixture, remaining water, and oil.  Process 1 minute until dough comes together.  Let rest 20 minutes before rolling out.

White Pizza Sauce (From: My Mom)

• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix all together and top on crust.

I baked my crust for about 5-10 minutes then topped with white sauce, shredded chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, and cheese. Of Course onions on Adam’s half.

When Adam and I sat down to plan our menu we wanted to buy as little groceries as possible. We were making a whole chicken that was in the freezer and I had some leftover pesto from Cream Cheese and Pesto Stuff Chicken and decided this would make a simple pizza. But our chicken turned out to be a diaster last night so we subbed ham in.

This was the BEST pizza we have ever had, the crust was no soggy at all something I normally don’t like about homemade pizza, the toppings were yummy. And I think we both have a new passion for pesto.

For toppings on our pizza we put a thin layer of pesto, ham, spinach, sauted mushrooms with garlic, and mozzarella cheese.

Basic Pizza Dough (From: Annie’s Eats)

• ½ cup warm water (about 110°)
• 1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.  Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.  

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed.  Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms.  Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.  Press the dough to deflate it.

To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven.  Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal.  Top as desired.  Slide the dough onto the pizza stone.  Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes.  Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.