The secret to this delicious pizza is to prebake your crust firstly then top as stated in directions and bake just to heat through and until the cheese has melted, this is a hearty pizza that can be made using store-bought refrigerated pizza dough or homemade,  to kick up the heat add in a seeded and finely chopped jalapeno pepper to the ground beef mixture also if desired, Italian sausage meat may be replaced for the ground beel

Yield one 12-inch pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1 prepared (12-inch)  pizza crust

1/2 lb ground beef ( can use more)

1 small onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves,  minced

seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided ( or to taste)

pizza sauce ( use from 1/2 cup to 1 cup or as much as desired)

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided

5 -6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled ( or to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————-

Prebake the pizza crust in a 400 degrees oven until golden brown and baked.

Place the pizza crust on a pizza pan or baking sheet (if you already baked your crust on a pizza pan then just leave on the pan).

In a skillet cook the ground beef with onion and garlic until browned (the beef must be well browned, this might take about 10-12 minutes) drain fat then season with seasoned salt, black pepper and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.

Add in the pizza sauce; reduce heat to low and cook stirring for 5 minutes.

Top the crust with the cooked ground beef mixture, then sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then mozzarella cheese.

Top with cooked crumbled bacon.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 8-12 minutes.

Two kinds of flour is what sets this apart from any other and produces the most wonderful dough and best of all it is so tender, easy to work with and does not fall apart when boiling, it’s also a low fat dough no heavy cream, oil or butter included in the ingredients, I usually get about 40 from one batch of dough, but it will depend on how large you make them, this dough may be prepared up to 3 hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to roll out and the dough may be used for vareniki also……

Watch for all my peirogi filling recipes to be posted here soon!

Yield 40 pierogi

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cake flour

2 large eggs

3/4 teaspoon salt ( can use 1 teaspoon)

1/4 cup water

all-purpose flour ( or as needed)

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————–

Make a well in the middle flour and add in the eggs, salt and water, then stir together with a fork without touching the flour.

Continue stirring gradually incorporating the flour into the well until a soft dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead for about 7-8 minutes until smooth and elastic (adding ONLY as much additional all purpose flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, the dough will be soft!).

Place the dough into a shallow bowl or on a lightly floured plate and cover with plastic wrap for no less than 30 minutes up to 3 hours (you may refrigerate overnight but bring the dough to room temperature before using this is important or the dough will be tough).

Roll out and cut into circle, then fill and seal.

Since panko is expensive this is a cheaper and tastier alternative store bought

Test Kitchen Notes; use only one to two day old French or Italian bread, absolutely NO soft mushy sandwich bread, the bread must have a heavier texture

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fit a food processor with a medium or coarse shredding disk.

Trim the crusts off the bread slices (5 slices will make about 1 cup of crumbs) and cut the slices in half.

Drop a stack of three or four pieces (or as many as will fit comfortably) into the feed tube.

Put the feed tube plunger in place and turn on the machine, allowing the weight of the plunger to push the bread through the shredding disk (do not apply additional pressure by pushing down on the plunger).

Spread the crumbs in a thin, even layer on one or two rimmed baking sheets and let them dry at room temperature overnight.

If you can’t wait that long you can bake the crumbs in a 30o degree F oven until dry to the touch (about 8 minutes) stirring intermittently, but do not allow them to brown.

The crumbs tend to clump in the oven; when the crumbs are cool,break up the clumps by rubbing them gently between your fingers.

Once dried the panko can be stored in an airtight container or zipper-lock bag for 8 weeks at room temperature or for several months in the freezer.

Photo courtesy of French_Tart

For garlic toast slices see bottom of recipe for instructions, this is best served warm

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 loaf French bread (not the long thin baguette kind)

1/2 to 3/4 cup butter , softened (no substitutes, I use 3/4 cup)

2 tablespoons garlic fresh minced (if you like an extreme garlic flavor then add in some garlic powder also)

2 teaspoons dried parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (for 1/2 cup or if using 3/4 cup butter increase to 1 tablespoon dried)

1/3 parmesan cheese grated (you may increase slightly if desired)

1 pinch salt (or to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut slices down the length of the bread about 1-inch intervals without cutting all the way through.

In a bowl combine the softened butter with garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese; mix well to combine.

Spread the butter/garlic mixture between bread slices, and then on the top of the loaf (you may sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top of the loaf if desired).

Wrap the bread in heavy-duty foil leaving the top partially uncovered.

Bake until heated through (about 15 minutes).

For garlic toast slices; slice the bread into slices, then spread the garlic butter mixture over the top of each slice of bread, then sprinkle more Parmesan cheese over the top of each slice or you can sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top in place of the Parmesan.

Place onto a baking sheet and bake (350 degrees F bottom oven rack) until lightly toasted to desired doneness (this will not take long!)

Best served warm.this bread can be made without the addition of the Parmesan cheese if desired, but of course it’s better with the cheese!

Step-by-step instructions for the perfect pizza dough!

Because of the small amount of sugar this produces a more crispier crust, the dough may be prepared then refrigerated overnight to rise which is what I most always do, and after the rising time you may punch down shape in a semi-flat ball and freeze until ready to use (see recipe for instructions on freezing)

Yield 1 large pizza or 2 medium

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C or you can do the baby bottle wrist test)

1 teaspoon sugar

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast dry yeast (do not use quick-rise yeast or bread machine yeast)

3-1/3 cup all-purpose flour (US residents can use half bread flour and all-purpose, Canadian residents can use 3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour)

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup warm water (may need a little more)

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————

Prepare a stand mixer with the kneader blade.

To the bowl add in 3-1/3 cups of flour, salt and olive oil.

In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup warm water with 1 teaspoon of sugar; add in the yeast and mix for a couple of seconds.

Allow the yeast to proof for about 8-10 minutes or until foamy (if the yeast does not foam discard and start again).

Pour the proofed yeast into the bowl, then add in 1 cup warm water; start mixing/kneading the dough, adding in a small amount more of warm water if needed stopping the machine two times during kneading to allow the dough to rest for about 5 minutes each time, this is important!) continue kneading after each 5 minute resting time until the dough is soft and smooth, adjusting with a little more water if needed adding in no more that 1 teaspoon at a time.

Transfer to a very lightly floured flat surface and allow to rest another 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile oil a large glass or stainless steel bowl (do not use a plastic bowl).

Gather up the dough then shape into a ball and place into the oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise for about 1 hour, or you can refrigerate the dough up to 24 hours.

Punch down the dough and transfer to a well-floured surface; cover with a clean dry tea towel and allow to rest for about 6-8 minutes…… (after you punch down the dough you may shape into a semi-flat ball then place onto a plate until the dough is completely frozen, then wrap well in foil and then place into a freezer bag, thaw in refrigerator overnight or at room temperature before using).

Roll out as desired to fit your pizza pan, then top as desired.