Whole Wheat Pizza with Pumpkin

Directions

1. Pizza crust
2. Dissolve the yeast with the honey in the luke warm water and wait until it starts to foam.
3. Mix the remaining dry ingredients together and make a well in the center. Pour in the yeast water and mix everything together. Use as much water as to make a very flexible dough, it can still be a bit sticky. If it is to stick to handle, add some more flour. The trick of handling sticky dough is kneading with your finger tips covered in flour. Cover the dough in olive oil, cover the bowl with a wet towel or cling film and set aside on a warm spot for one hour. In the mean time start with the topping.

1. Pumpkin topping
2. Use as much of the topping as you like, I don’t like to cram the pizza but some people like to pile up as much as they can. Preferably no double layers that don’t get cooked and make the dough slump; it is alright to see the crust between the ingredients here and there.
3. Cut the pumpkin in very thin slices. Cut the mushrooms in 4 or 6 depending on the size.
4. Mix 2 tablespoons tomato paste with 1 tablespoon sun dried tomato pesto.
5. Preheat the oven on maximum and put a baking tray in the middle. Flatten the pizza dough and take it in your hands. You can stretch it very easily by tossing it between your hands, be careful it doesn’t break, this is fragile dough.
6. Take the hot baking tray out of the oven and put the pizza dough on top so the bottom can immediately start baking. With the back of a spoon, spread a thin layer of tomato paste on the dough and divide the pumpkin, mushrooms and pancetta on top. Cover with a thin layer of grated mozzarella and sprinkle some balsamico on top (instead of this I sometimes use my favorite dressing, a mix of olive oil, minced garlic, balsamico, pepper, salt and some honey). Finish off with some oregano and place back in the oven. Try to keep the oven door open as short as possible so you won’t lose to much heat.
7. Bake until the edges are brown and the topping cooked. The baking time depends on the temperature of your oven. I served this with a salad of baby spinach, pear, Parmesan and the dressing I prescribed before.