Thai Pizza

This was a concoction that was partly based on a Thai pizza that I love from Glass Nickel Pizza...but I was also partly just using up ingredients in my fridge. Glass Nickel has a Thai Chicken pizza that is to die for, and although I didn't put chicken on this pizza - you definitely could add it and I think it would be delicious.  If you like Glass Nickel's Thai pizza - or if you like Thai peanut sauce in general, I think you will like this. :) 

Thai Pizza 

Serves 2-4

For the crust:

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine warm water, yeast, honey and oil and mix with a spoon. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until foamy, and then add in flour and salt. Mix until just combined, and then knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. If it seems too sticky, add a bit more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Brush a separate bowl with olive oil; add dough, turning once, then cover with bowl with saran wrap.  Set in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. (If making dough ahead, after it is done rising – wrap in plastic wrap, place in Ziploc bag and freeze until day you use it – this saves a lot of time!)

For the Thai Peanut Sauce:

(note: this makes a lot of extra sauce that you could use as a dressing, marinade, or sauce for other dishes throughout the week as well!) 

1 cup sweet chili sauce (the Mae Ploy brand is my favorite)

1/2 cup rice or apple vinegar

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

6 tablespoons brown sugar

4 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Combine chili sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, sugar, garlic, ginger, peanut butter, soy sauce and lime juice in a saucepan, whisking to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. 

For the pizza toppings:

Feel free to adjust the amounts and types of veggies or meat you use to your liking!  I like to make different variations of pizzas all the time and they usually consist of whatever veggies I have in my fridge.  What you like on your pizza may not be the same as what is listed here and that is totally fine.  Play around with different ingredients as much as you like!

Olive oil (for brushing the top of the pizza dough/crust

Thai Peanut Sauce (from above)

3 whole banana peppers, seeds removed and sliced

3 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

1 scallion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled then julienned

1 cup of small broccoli florets

6-8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

3-4 large basil leaves, cut chiffonade style

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Place pizza stone in oven while it preheats. 

(If you freeze your dough the night before, place it in the fridge in the morning and take out of fridge 15 minutes before baking) While the peanut sauce is cooking, place bacon on a paper-towel lined plate, and cover with another paper towel. Microwave for about 4 minutes (make sure not to burn bacon because it will continue to cook in oven). Set aside.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board and sprinkle surface with corn meal or flour.  Remove pizza dough from the bowl and throw on a prepared parchment paper.  Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll and shape it into your desired shape.  Brush with olive oil and top with desired amount of Thai peanut sauce (again, the sauce recipe makes a lot so you will have extra but you can feel free to put as little or as much on the pizza as you like - treat is just as you would a tomato sauce on pizza).  Sprinkle broccoli onto the dough (you want the broccoli under the cheese as much as possible so the florets don’t burn.  Sprinkle the cheese over the broccoli and then top with remaining veggies & bacon. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.  After pizza is baked, add the basil leaves on top and serve.