Observations: Dessert Pizza

A drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

Strawberries and toasted pine nuts instead of pepperoni and mushrooms.

The combination works.

Trust me. It is delicious.

Let’s get started.

Dough ingredients:

1¼ cups warm water (no hotter than 120°F)

1¼ teaspoons active-dry yeast

¼ teaspoon sugar

3¼ cups bread flour (the bag will say ‘bread flour’, it works better than all purpose for pizza)

1½ teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

Topping ingredients:

Mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Mascarpone cheese

Strawberries (sliced)

Pine Nuts (toasted in a dry pan till golden)

Aged Balsamic Vinegar (simmered in pan to thicken)

1. Put ¼ cup of the warm water into the small bowl. Add the yeast and sugar and whisk or stir to dissolve. Set the bowl aside for 8 to 10 minutes, until it looks foamy.

2. Put the flour and salt in the large bowl and whisk to blend. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour the yeast mixture into the well. Then pour the remaining 1cup warm water and the olive oil into the well. Using the wooden spoon, stir together the flour mixture and the liquids until you get big, shaggy clumps of dough that start to stick together.

3. Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface. Dump the dough clumps out of the bowl onto your work surface. Dip your hands in flour and start kneading the dough. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth and springy and no longer sticky. It will take about 10 minutes. Lightly flour your hands and the surface if the dough starts sticking. It should feel tacky, like tape, but not sticky and gooey.

4. Rub the inside of a mixing bowl with a thin coat of vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Lightly rub the dough with a little oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside and let the dough rise until it is twice as big. Depending on the temperature of the room it will take about an hour.

5. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface. Press down firmly to flatten the dough and pop the air bubbles in it. Don’t knead it, or it will get too springy to shape. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.

6. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a circle or just press down and gently stretch the dough with your hands.

7. Place the dough on top of a cookie sheet (sprinkled with a bit of corn meal to keep from sticking) or use a Silpat. Spread mozzarella cheese and then dollops of mascarpone cheese on top.