Recipe Round Up! Chiffonade’s Sweet Potato Pizza with Teet’s Smoked Sausage

Chiffonade’s Sweet Potato Pizza with Teet’s Smoked Sausage
by Chiffonade

When using a gas grill, resist the temptation to crank the heat under these pizzas as the bottoms will scorch while waiting for toppings to heat through and melt.  The smokiness of the sausage complemented nicely the smoky flavor imparted to
the crust by the grilling process.   The sausage was highly flavorful and permeated the entire pizza.

Sweet Potato Dough:
1 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon honey
¼ cup canola oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups cooked mashed sweet potato flesh
Proof yeast in warm water with honey for about 5 minutes.  It should appear foamy.  Stir in canola oil and set aside.

Place flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a stand mixer bowl fitted with dough hook  With the mixer running on low speed, pour the yeast mixture into the flour.  Increase speed to medium.  When dough is about halfway incorporated, “fling” big pinches of sweet potato into the mixer while it is running.  When no more dry flour is visible, increase speed to high and allow to beat for 5 minutes.  The dough will appear quite wet and make a slapping sound as it is moved around the bowl (beware of “mixer walk” which causes the mixer to creep across the counter possibly crashing to the floor).  After five minutes, add ¼ to 1/3 cup more flour to dough and beat for another 2 minutes.

Place some bench flour on a clean countertop.  Scrape the dough onto the countertop and knead for about 5 minutes.  Use a bench scraper to facilitate kneading and only add additional flour in small increments, the dough should remain moist.  Form the dough into a ball and place it into a large oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic and raise at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or place bowl in the refrigerator and raise overnight.  Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Toppings:
For this pizza I used about 1 cup diced Teet’s Smoked Jalapeno Pork Sausage, diced poblano, diced yellow bell pepper, diced red onion, chopped garlic and mozzarella on top. 

Using dough balls of approximately 3” in diameter roll out thin pizza crusts.  Have all topping ingredients ready and assembled.  It is not advised to grill more than one pizza at a time.

For Big Green Egg:
Light charcoal in chimney and pour hot coals into grill.  Place pizza stone on grill and preheat to 425º.  Use a pizza peel well coated with corn meal to place fully assembled pizza on stone.  For Gas Grill:  Preheat grill to low/medium.  Drape one crust over grill and allow the dough to cook until large bubbles form, about 3 minutes.  With tongs, flip the dough over and quickly apply toppings to cooked side.  Allow to cook about 3-5 minutes or until toppings are heated through and melted.  If using an outdoor grill, close the cover but check at one minute increments.  If using an inside vented built-in stove grill, use a domed pan lid to concentrate the heat on the toppings so they will cook.
With a large spatula or peel, move the cooked pizza to a board, cut and serve.