Garlic White Pizza

Ok.. this is a labor of love (sort of), but it is ABSOLUTELY 100% worth the time. I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious.

First, the dough:
- 1 c. warm water
- 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 T extra-virgin olive oil (i used a garlic infused one.. very good!)
- 2 3/4 c. flour
- 1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan
- pinch of salt

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky. Add parmesan cheese and incorporate fully. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil (again, used the garlic oil). Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place, free from drafts until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

After making dough, start to roast garlic:
- 3 or 4 heads of garlic, with the top quarter sliced off
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Rub olive oil onto cut side of garlic heads, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put cut side down onto a foil lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. This will make your house smell AMAZING, btw. :)

When dough has risen and garlic has roasted and is cool enough to handle, start making your pizza! Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone on the center rack (you can use a baking sheet if you don't have a stone, i'm sure). Roll dough out to size of your stone or pizza sheet, set aside on a well floured (or corn-mealed) surface. We put ours on a well floured cutting board that we could slide it off of.

Roasted Garlic Sauce:
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream (I used cream, as I had it in the fridge).
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 2 T flour
- 1/4 t plus a pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 to 4 heads roasted garlic

In a medium sauce pan, melt your butter over low-medium heat. Once melted and no longer foamy, add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir to combine. Do not cook flour through as you would for a roux. Add milk or cream, whisking as you go. Add salt and cayenne pepper and continue to whick until mixture has thickened to a spreadable sauce consistency. Remove from heat and add roasted garlic cloves. Puree together (either with an immersion blender or pour into a regular blender).

Remove your pizza stone (or pizza sheet) from the oven and place already prepared dough on. Top with your sauce, leaving about an inch from the sides, as it will expand! Top with discs of fresh mozzarella (i also used a 3 cheese shredded blend). At this point, you can place your pizza back in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly.

This is technically a white pizza, but we added some fresh toppings. We did freshly sliced (and salted) tomatoes about halfway through the cooking process so they wouldn't dry out too much. When we took the pizza out of the oven, we threw some basil ribbons on top. It was DELICIOUS. I also think some spinach, either fresh or already wilted with garlic would also be really good on this dish. We will definitely make this one again.