Sasha's Kitchen: Spectacular White Pizza Variations

I've long prided myself on my pizzas, but lately my pizza making has really taken it up a notch. I have a crust that is absolutely to die for and have perfected my technique with shaping the pizza crusts to get them just the way I love my pizza. Lately, I've tried a couple different variations on white pizza, both of which I will share here. I used a combination of lowfat mozzarella, monterey jack and cheddar shredded cheese which are my favorite for white pizzas (I personally don't care for ricotta on my pizza, and neither does Brad, my husband). These variations include the use of ShopRite's new basting oil, which is filled with a delicious blend of herbs, a great new product that I received for free to review. Initially i was skeptical about using this on pizza, rather than to, say, baste a turkey. But it was spectacular. I mixed it in with the shredded cheeses and it added a lovely blend of herbs to the pizza, kind of like a garlic bread feel. So, I tried that on one of the pizzas below. Also, I found that pimentos are not just for southern cheese, they are absolutely perfect on a white pizza!

Sasha's Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
2 packages dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Sasha's White Pizza Variation One

two red onions, sliced into rings

organic turkey bacon from Applegate Farms (best turkey bacon ever!), cooked before adding to pizza

Fresh/dried Oregano and Basil to season

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

Sasha's White Pizza Variation Two

two red onions, sliced into rings

3 T ShopRite basting oil

pimento peppers

1 package shredded part skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 package shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack mix

To prepare the dough, combine the warm water, dry active yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Allow to sit for about ten minutes until the yeast mixture is bubbly and frothy.  This indicates that the yeast has activated.  Combine in bowl, or in your stand mixer (I used my mixer for this) with the olive oil, flour and salt, until it forms a dough.  Place in an oiled bowl (sprayed with PAM, for example) and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise in a warm place for one hour. I used to let it go longer, but I found that one hour makes a better crust that is not over-puffy.

Cook the bacon, or prepare the other toppings depending on which variation you are making. If you do the second variation, mix in the basing oil with the cheeses.

Stretch the pizza dough onto a pizza stone which is lightly coated with cornstarch. Top with the cheeses or cheeses with basing oil mixed in and add the other ingredients to top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. If there's any excess oil, you can get rid of it using a paper towel.