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Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza

Ingredients

for the crust

  • 1/2 c. warm water about 110 degrees F
  • 1 envelope 2 1/4 t. instant yeast (I like Red Star Platinum)
  • 1 1/4 c. room temperature water
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 4 c. 22 oz. bread flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 1/2 t. salt

for the toppings

  • 1 pre-cooked turkey breast meat picked and shredded of the bone
  • 1 lb. bacon cooked and broken into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 can 28 oz. diced tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
  • 4 c. 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 T. unsalted butter
  • 2 T. flour
  • 2 c. whole milk
  • 1 1/2 c. fresh Parmesan cheese finely grated
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • cracked black pepper

Instructions

for the crust

  • Combine the warmed water and yeast in a 2 cup measuring cup. In a very large bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the bread flour and the salt. Pour the room temperature water and the olive oil into the measuring cup with the warm water and yeast. Stir to combine.
  • Pour the water, yeast and oil mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt. Use a spatula to stir together about 1 minute until mixture is smooth. Let rest for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix to combine. Flour a clean surface, turn the dough out, sprinkle with additional flour and begin to knead, sprinkling with extra flour as necessary. Knead for 6 - 7 minutes until dough is a smooth ball and just slightly tacky to the touch.
  • Oil a clean bowl, turn the dough ball in the bowl to coat all sides of the dough with oil. Cover the bowl loosely with a clean towel and set in a warm spot to rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
  • See notes if freezing half the dough.

for the toppings

  • This amount of toppings makes enough to cover two pizzas, using ALL the pizza dough. If only making one pizza, simple halve the topping ingredients.
  • Before making the sauce, open your can of tomatoes and place in a mesh strainer over a bowl, reserving the juice.
  • To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk occasionally, allowing the flour and butter mixture to brown a bit. This will take 2 -3 minutes. Whisking constantly, pour in the milk, making sure to whisk all the flour and butter mixture off the bottom of the pan. Add the salt and continue to whisk. Turn the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Turn the heat down and add about 1/3 cup of the reserved tomato juice (if making the whole recipe of sauce, add about 1/4 cup of the juice if making half a recipe) and simmer for a few minutes. The sauce is finished when you turn the pan to the side and the sauce thickly coats the bottom of the pan.
  • Off the heat, whisk in the grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Transfer sauce to a clean glass bowl and top with plastic wrap, directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a "skin" from forming, until ready to use.
  • Place pizza stone in the oven (rack in lower third of oven) and heat to 525 degrees.
  • Tear two sheets of parchment paper, deflate the risen dough in the bowl, divide dough evenly, and gently begin to stretch the dough into your desired shape. Place each piece of dough on the parchment paper and press the edges outward with your finger tips until pizza is 12 - 14 inches across.
  • Lightly brush the edges of the crust with olive oil. Spread about half a cup of the Mornay sauce over the bottom of each crust and sprinkle lightly with the pizza cheese. Top each pizza with about 2 cups of the shredded, pre-cooked turkey breast. Divide the bacon pieces between each pizza. Divide the diced tomatoes evenly between each pizza. Top each pizza with the remaining shredded pizza cheese.
  • Transfer the pizza, with the parchment paper, on top of the pre-heated baking stone. (only one pizza at a time) Bake each pizza until the top is nicely browned and bubbly, about 10 - 12 minutes.
  • After removing each pizza from the oven, top each with dollops of Mornay sauce... one dollop per slice, as illustrated in the pictures.

Notes

for the crust:
This dough recipe makes enough for two whole pizzas. If you would like to freeze dough for later, after the rising time and you have divided your dough in half, take one half of the dough and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Then place it in a gallon-sized, freezer-safe Ziploc bag and place in the freezer.
When ready to use the dough, place the frozen dough (still wrapped) in the refrigerator the morning you'd like to use it for dinner. Unwrap when ready to top and proceed as directed.
for the pizza on parchment:
So far, I've had luck removing the parchment paper about halfway through baking time. I just put my oven mitts on, grab the parchment at both ends and gently slide it out from underneath the still-baking pizza. The parchment gets really dark if you leave it in the oven and several sources suggest doing this.
When it is time to remove the completely baked pizza, I have two, long-handled spatulas that I use. I slide one under each end and carefully lift the pizza onto a cutting board. This is easier to do with smaller, individual-sized pizzas, but I haven't had any slipping accidents with the full-sized pizzas yet!
Trust me, for pizza at home so good that you'll never want take-out again, a pizza stone and parchment paper are the way to go!