Goat Cheese and Arugula Pizza with Balsamic Pepperoncini Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• For Pizza Dough

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 package Active Dry Yeast
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• Cornmeal or flour for peel and shaping dough

• Pizza Toppings

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz log goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
• 8 ounces arugula
• 5-10 pepproncini peppers, sliced with seeds removed
• 5-10 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. For the Dough: In a bowl, bloom yeast with warm water and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.
2. Attach a dough hook to a stand mixer. Add flour and salt in the bowl of the mixer, and slowly add warm water in three stages, each time running the mixer on low speed until the liquid is incorporated in to the dry ingredients. Add olive oil after wet ingredients are incorporated.
3. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
4. Split dough into 4 small balls and let sit in a warm place (75 - 85 degrees F.) covered with a moist towel until they double in size. This dough can be used about 2 hours after it is made or can be saved in the refrigerator for 2 days.
5. Directions for Pizza: Preheat oven to at least 500 degrees F. If using a pizza stone, place in oven on middle rack before preheating.
6. Combine heavy cream, whole grain mustard and goat cheese in a small saucepan. Heat on low just until creme and goat cheese come together. Do not bring to boil or cheese has risk of separating.
7. Form dough as thin as possible on a wood peel sprinkled with cornmeal. (Make sure to push down all the bubbles that form.) Alternatively you can use a cast iron pan coated with olive oil. When the dough is 3/4 of the way stretched, put into the middle of a cast iron pan coated with olive oil and finish by stretching the dough to meet the side of the pan.
8. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and put into hot oven for about 6-8 minutes or until top of crust has browned slightly. The hotter your oven the faster the dough will brown. If the dough is sticky or doughy on the top or bottom it is not yet ready.
9. Pull dough out and add generous amount of goat cheese sauce. Put back into the oven just until goat cheese first starts to bubble (2-3 minutes).
10. While the pie is finishing, toss washed and dried arugula with remaining olive oil, sliced pepperoncini peppers, olives, salt and pepper.
11. Remove pizza from oven and place on cutting board for service then top with a thin layer of arugula salad.
12. Use a knife to chop this pizza into appetizer squares rather than cutting traditionally with a pizza slicer.

Notes