better than Deschutes

so when I told you before that I loved to make pizza, I was far from lying. and I'll tell you right now, since pizza is such a big thing in my house, you may see a few of my experiments pop up right here. this one was an excellent experience at a new brewery in town - turned excellent pizza making experience at home. I call it the "better than Deschutes" pear, goat cheese, and hazelnut pizza.
friday night, dlb and I walked to the newest brewery in The Pearl, Deschutes. if you've never heard of Deschutes, they are an established brewery out of Bend, OR with some pretty outstanding beers. {if you got a chance to experience what all the hype was about over The Abyss, you know what I mean.} we got lucky finding a seat at the overly packed bar, and ordered a few beers and the Pear Pizza.
after one bite, I immediatly took note that I would need to recreate this at home. dlb was so impressed with the pizza, he questioned whether or not I could do it. {side note: all of the food at Deschutes is local and seasonal, and from the looks of the menu, pretty darn good.} so with a trip to the Farmer's Market to get some fresh pears and a trip to Whole Foods yesterday to get some other ingredients, I set about to re-create that oh so good Pear Pizza.


Better Than Deschutes Pear Pizza
makes one 14" round pizza

pre-heat oven to 425˚

:: for dough ::
3/4 cup and 1/2 cup separated unbleached white flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup very hot water
extra white flour for dusting
1/8 cup semolina flour for bottom of crust

• whisk together 3/4 cup white flour, yeast, and sea salt in a large bowl.
• mix water with flour/yeast mix until smooth. pour left over white flour into mixture and mix until just blended.
• place dough onto a floured surface and knead until blended and soft, about 15-20 times.
• form dough into a ball and cover with bowl. allow dough to rise at least 30 minutes.

:: for pears ::
non stick cooking spray
1 medium sized pear
fresh ground black pepper to taste

• spray baking sheet lightly with non-stick spray.
• slice pear to make round slices. remove any seeds or tough spots in the middle of the rounds.
• grind pepper on top of each pear round, and spray again lightly with cooking spray.
• cook pears for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly crispy.

*if you are using a pizza stone - after the pears have cooked, raise the temperature of your oven to 510˚, if not, leave oven temp at 425˚.


:: for pizza ::
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese
2 tbsp goat cheese
1/8 cup chopped hazelnuts

• after dough has had enough time to rise, gently pick it up to make sure that none of the dough has stuck to your surface. spread out semolina onto your surface, then place the dough back in the center. carefully roll out the dough until it's about 1/4" thick.
• spread olive oil evenly in center of dough, leaving about a 1" border on the outside.
• sprinkle Monterey jack cheese over pizza, making sure to cover the dough.
• place pear rounds around pizza, concentrating on covering.
• smear dollops of goat cheese on top of pizza, leaving them chunky.
• sprinkle hazelnuts evenly on pizza.

• if using a pizza stone, place pizza directly onto the stone and bake at 510˚ for about 5 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese has melted.
• if using a baking sheet, line with a sheet of parchment paper and and bake at 425˚ for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.

{*note: I raised the temp of the oven and it created a more crisp crust on the bottom, while allowing the top to stay soft. they say, the trick to creating a fantastic pizza is all in the timing of when the crust cooks and when the cheese melts. I thought I'd try a little something different}

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