Memorial Day

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza

by:
May  6, 2010
4
4 Ratings
Spinach and Artichoke Pizza
  • Serves 4 to 6 depends how hungry the eaters are
Author Notes

I've been making Pizza since I was a 10-year-old Girl Scout and my Sicilian troop leader taught us to make it on a cookie sheet. Around this house, we have pizza often, and frequently with toppings you wouldn't expect. All great pizza starts with a fabulous crust, and this one is the best. This recipe was made famous by my 10 years of Pizza Classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education. This is one of the BEST basic bread dough going. Not only can you create perfect pizzas, fabulous focaccias and crusty calzones with this recipe, it’s magical for dinner rolls or a quick crusty loaf! The more you bake with this dough, the more you’ll love it! —ChefJune

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Fabulous Pizza and Calzone Dough from Anna Teresa Callen
  • 2 packets or 1 tablespoon dry yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour (or substitute half whole wheat flour)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Pizza Topping
  • Crust for 1 12-inch pizza
  • 1 10-ounce package frozen artichoke bottoms, thawed and dried
  • 1 bunch fresh spinach, well washed and blanched, or 1 16-ounce package organic frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped very fine
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 8 ounces fresh Mozzarella
  • extra-virgin olive oil for drizzle
Directions
  1. Fabulous Pizza and Calzone Dough from Anna Teresa Callen
  2. This recipe will make one 11 x 15 inch rectangle or 2 12-inch pizzas.
  3. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand for 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oregano and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and the yeast mixture. With your hand, stir the flour into the liquid and gather the mixture into a ball.
  4. Turn dough out onto a floured board, or proceed to knead it in the bowl. Knead and slap the dough until it is smooth and elastic (like a baby's bottom). While kneading, add a little more flour, if necessary. Dough must be smooth, elastic, and not sticky.
  5. Gather dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Set the bowl in a warm place, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
  6. Punch dough down, and knead a little. Shape into a ball, and let rise again (for about 1 hour). At this point, dough is ready to use. After the first rising, dough can be punched down and refrigerated or frozen. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator overnight.
  1. Pizza Topping
  2. Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Lightly oil one 12-inch pizza pan. Halve and flatten the dough and place one piece in the prepared pan. With oiled fingers or a small pizza rolling pin, stretch the dough toward the rim of each pan, pushing to form a 1/2-inch rim all around.
  3. Cut each artichoke bottom into 4 to 6 pieces and strew around pizza. Mix the spinach and garlic together in a bowl and scatter this mixture on top of the prepared dough. Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly over all. Slice the mozzarella fairly thin and arrange around the pizza, so everyone will have cheese on their slice. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over everything.
  4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until rim gets crusty and brown. Cut into wedges and serve.
Tags:
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • adguru
    adguru
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • ChefJune
    ChefJune
ChefJune
30+ years a chef, educator, writer, consultant, "winie," travel guide/coordinator

Popular on Food52

6 Reviews

adguru
adguru May 11, 2010
Thanks, Chef June. I'm new to bread and pizza dough. I hadn't heard the "no bread recipe" but, I understand now. I am trying to reverse engineer a dough which I have touched (you get the pizza's fresh but, uncooked from this chain). Their dough (which is the best I have ever tasted). Thin, almost translucent and wet. Your recipe made 4 12" crusts. I'll start over day after tomorrow with more water, less flour.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune May 11, 2010
If you email me, I can send you an unrelated recipe for a very wet pizza dough.
 
adguru
adguru May 10, 2010
OK, I tried the dough recipe. It was a little too salty and chalky in texture. I think there was too much flour. I'm going to try a wetter dough next time perhaps only 3 cups of flour. And I will check back with the results.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune May 11, 2010
Don't forget that no bread recipe is written in stone. So much depends upon the moisture content of your flour, not to mention the air. If your dough seems dry, add more moisture. However, a different sack of flour, or a different level of humidity in the air the very next day can change the equation. Bread making is so much about "feel." The more you make it, the better you get at it.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames May 8, 2010
Love this dough recipe! It's all the olive oil and the oregano that makes it so good. Definitely saved to recipes!! Yummmmm. ;o)
 
adguru
adguru May 7, 2010
I'm going to try your pizza dough.

Currently my favorite pizza is Pappa Murphy's (a fresh-made pizza, cook it at home, chain) Light thin, Spinach, Bacon and Artichoke. They use Alfredo sauce for this pizza instead of a tomato-based sauce.

I can recreate this pizza, but not their crust. I am going to try again with your crust recipe.