Pasta Jay sharing a Pizz-a his heart
“A place you can call home!” Moab, Utah is a special location for Pasta Jay, which is a second location for Pasta Jay’s restaurant. Check out some pizza making tips from Pasta Jay!
Pasta Jay’s Pizza
Ingredients:
1 recipe pizza dough or 1 store bought raw pizza dough
1 jar Pasta Jay’s Classic Marinara
8 oz shredded mozzarella or a log of fresh mozzarella
Toppings:
8 oz Italian Sausage
1 small package pepperoni
½ red onion, sliced
10 mushrooms, sliced
1/4 green bell pepper
Dough:
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp sea salt
¾ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Method:
For Dough:
Warm 1 cup of water to 105 degrees then mix in sugar, and yeast. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.
Once water mixture becomes active and foams stir in the oil and add to the flour bowl.
Mix to combine , if the dough is too dry and not forming a dough add 1 T of water at a time until the dough comes together, then knead the dough with your hand until all the flour is incorporated once a dough is formed knead the dough is smooth and elastic, cover with plastic and let rest for 15 minutes.
Knead the dough again for about 5 minutes on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, cover with plastic and although to rest at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Making Pizza:
Once the dough is rested, heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add your sausage and cook for about 7 minutes, breaking up the sausage into small pieces as it cooks.
Once cooked, remove from the pan and add your mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes then add your onions and green bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes, remove and set aside.
If using a fresh mozzarella log then slice the cheese into workable round pieces.
Line a sheet tray with parchment paper or with some cornmeal.
On a floured surface begin to work your pizza dough out with your fingers to begin to shape your dough into a round shape pizza that will fit your sheet tray. The dough should be soft enough to shape by hand, but you may need to use a rolling pin to achieve the size you need.
Once the dough is to the size that is needed place the dough on to your sheet tray and use a fork to poke holes over the top of the surface of the dough.
Spread a layer of Pasta Jay’s Marinara sauce over the surface of the pizza dough leaving about ¼ inch of raw dough around the edge. You want enough sauce to cover the surface, but not too much. You still want to see dough through the sauce.
Spread or sprinkle your mozzarella over the top of the sauce.
Add a combination of sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions to the top of the cheese. You want a balance of good coverage but not overloaded.
Add a few more spoonful of sauce over the topped pizza, and place in the 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Watch the edges of the pizza and if the start to brown remove the pizza from the oven. You want the cheese to be melted and bubbly and the sauce to be hot. The dough should slightly brown on the edges, make sure to turn the dough half way through cooking.
After 15 minutes remove from the oven and serve.
Enjoy!!
