Roasted Veggie Pizza with Spelt Crust

You know what the problem is with making a 9″ pie? I’ve eaten three pieces for dinner last night, two for breakfast this morning, two for lunch today, and I have one sitting here on my desk should I need an afternoon pick me up. Holy overkill. Veggie pizzas just don’t seem keep well as leftovers, and I didn’t want to throw it out, so I’m on a pizza eating frenzy. If you’re into carbs, like me, it’s not so bad. Just make sure you use toppings you really, really like or have friends that want to help you eat it. This is not the time to experiment or you’re going to be left with a bunch of mediocre pizza.

I adapted a cast iron thick crust recipe into some spelt-y action. It’s pretty much status quo around here, isn’t it? I really like thicker, doughy crusts. The thinner parts of the bottom turned into crispy cardboard, so unless you’re into that, don’t go thin.

I never make my own pizza dough since I usually want pizza NOW and can’t be bothered to wait. The fact that I was ambitious enough to make the dough Sunday night says a lot. You let it rise for an hour, and then pop it into the fridge for at least two. I let it sit almost 24. You’re supposed to let it come back to room temperature. Talk about being impatient! That’s when I roasted veggies, prepped my cashew spread, fed Roma, vacuumed, debated on going to yoga, did the dishes, took out the garbage, and I think I still might have jumped the gun a little bit. If I waited any longer, I was going to need to make more cashew spread. That stuff is good.

CONFESSION: I totally shaved a little bit of Parmesan on top. I couldn’t help myself.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and refrain from having a soda [I don’t drink soda anymore, but every few months I get a wicked craving for one, and I give in and hate it and go back to the soda ban].

Inspiration: Macheesmo

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup cashews
• 1-2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dried basil [or Italian blend]
• Veggies for topping, chopped [I used 1/2 zucchini, 1 stalk of bok choy, 1/2 package of sliced mushrooms, 1/2 green bell pepper]

Preparation

• In the bowl of a mixer [you can mix it by hand, and if you do, you’re way better than me!], mix the cup of warm water, yeast, sugar, and salt.
• Allow the yeast to dissolve and get frothy, which takes several minutes.
• If it doesn’t get frothy, you should probably start again and either get new yeast or cool your water temperature. One of those two things is always the problem.
• Add the flour and attach a dough hook to the mixer and go to town.
• Once the dough is formed, allow the mixer to kneed the dough for 5 minutes.
• When the dough becomes a soft, smooth ball, cover it in olive oil and place in a plastic bag and allow to rise for an hour [room temperature].
• Punch it and then place it in the fridge for at least two hours. Allow it to come back to room temperature for at least an hour before using.
• To make the cashew base [or use cheese you lucky, lucky thing], put the cashews, soy sauce, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of water, and 1 teaspoon of basil in your foot processor [or blender].
• Allow the blades to turn the cashews into a delicious chunky paste. It might take a minute or two. If you like it a little creamier, add another tablespoon of water.
• Taste test it. I added another tablespoon of basil and a bunch of fresh cracked pepper.
• When the dough is ready to go, roll it into a nice neat oblong mass circle.
• Place the dough in the cast iron pan, and trim the edges so it only rides up the sides an inch or so [or go wild and leave most of it and get a really doughy end!].
• Eat the raw dough that you cut off.
• Roll the edges over onto themselves so they’re a nice little puffy humps of dough.
• Spread the cashew base over the dough.
• Top with your veggies [which I roasted at 400º for 20 minutes].
• Preheat oven to 425º.
• Place the cast iron pan on the stove, and turn the burner on medium high for three minutes. This gets the pan warm and prepped to cook the dough.
• Cook for 15-18 minutes [I went 18. I should have gone 15-16. I don’t like crunchier dough].
• Remove from oven, and allow to cool.
• You should be able to remove the pizza from the pan if its seasoned. Try not to fling a piece on the floor. Fighting your dog for it isn’t as fun as it sounds.
• Enjoy with a glass of club soda and a splash of Campari.