Monday, March 16: Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza

I love making homemade pizza! It’s so adaptable, and you can really have fun with it — top with your favorite sausage or pepperoni, fresh veggies, jarred goods like olives and banana peppers, and of course plenty of cheese. I always use this dough recipe from How Sweet Eats, sometimes replacing some of the AP flour with white whole wheat flour, and it always comes out super crispy and perfect (I make a few small changes during the preparation, see below). Today I decided to try a new pizza combo: buffalo cauliflower! It was SO good (we ate the entire pizza), especially drizzled with ranch.

For the base pizza:

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup + 2 TB warm water (100-110 degrees), 3 tsp active dry yeast, 1 TB honey, and 1 TB olive oil. Let sit until foamy (about 10 minutes), then add in 2 1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Turn out dough onto a floured surface, then work in an additional 1/2 cup flour (a bit at a time), kneading it for a few minutes until the flour is incorporated and the dough becomes a smooth ball. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours. When you’re ready to bake the pizza, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Punch down the dough and dump it onto a half sheet pan (approx 18” x 13”) that you’ve brushed with olive oil. Using your hands, push and stretch the dough to fill the pan. Brush dough with olive oil, then cover and let rest for about 10 minutes. Finally, add your sauce, cheese, and toppings, and place in oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling!

For the buffalo cauliflower:

Chop one head of cauliflower into small florets. Toss with a few TB olive oil and a big pinch of kosher salt (and any other desired seasonings, like garlic powder), and roast on a sheet tray (in one layer) for 20-30 minutes, tossing halfway, until tender and charred in spots. Add to a large bowl and toss with a few TB your favorite buffalo sauce (or to taste). For this pizza, I first spread on a layer of pizza sauce, then sprinkled on a nice layer of shredded mozzarella, ending with the buffalo cauliflower. After the pizza was finished baking, I served it with a bowl of ranch for drizzling or dipping, plus extra buffalo sauce.