Mellow Mushroom Pizza Dough

Miss F loves to make pizza, she is an amazing helper. She has gotten better at making doughs with me and she loves to operate the KitchenAid stand mixer. When we made this crust, she spilled a little bit of flour. She spent nearly the next hour playing with that flour. She was writing in it, moving it around and drawing in it. Pure kid entertainment! I got this recipe from Eva Bakes. She noted a sweetness to the crust, but I felt the molasses added a nice spice. I have never had Mellow Mushroom pizza before, but I recently learned there was a shop north of Houston. I will have to give it a try sometime soon to compare this crust to the original. I also wish we had double ovens when making pizza, I have to make a pepperoni pizza for C and Miss F, while I despise pepperoni and like to get a little more creative with my toppings.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza

1 ½ cups hot water
2 ½ tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ½ teaspoons yeast
3 ½ cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
cornmeal (used for dusting your parchment paper)
melted garlic butter
parmesan cheese crumbs

In a two cup measure, stir together the water, molasses and olive oil. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, whisk together the yeast, flour and salt. Slowly pour in the water mixture, turn the mixer to medium-low and knead until smooth.

Transfer the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a wet towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled (about 1-2 hours).

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place your pizza stone in the preheated oven and allow it to heat for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into two halves and form each half into a ball by folding the "sides" of the dough towards the back (imagine you are gift wrapping a balloon). Pinch the "sides" together in the back of the dough and press down slightly.

Cover each dough ball with a wet towel and allow to rise for another 30 minutes. At this point, you can bake the dough balls or transfer to a freezer bag and refrigerate or freeze for a later use.

To bake the dough, sprinkle some corn meal onto a piece of parchment paper. Place the dough down on the parchment, and working from the center, push the dough outwards (you may rotate the dough/parchment) to form a circle. Do not make the center too thin or else it will break.

Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and add your toppings. Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 7-9 minutes or until the crust is golden. Add garlic butter immediately after removing the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

Yield: Two 12-inch pizza crusts

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