Dill Pickle Pizza

Yes, it is a thing and apparently a big trendy thing too.  It's been driving The Blog Tech and his sister crazy, they've been desperate to try one.  So, hearing them discussing it yesterday, I told them I would make one. They were very excited.

 After the dough has risen, you form the pie and brush it with a very garlicky, dill, olive oil sauce. Then add a layer of mixed cheeses and some more sauce.

 It bakes for about 15 minutes and then you remove it from the oven and top it with dill slices and diced cooked bacon.

 This is classically served with ranch dressing.

 As you can see, it made instant fans of us all.  Here's the recipe:

Dough:
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
 2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:
1 Large head of garlic ( a whole entire head) Grate it on a small grater so it is very fine.
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Toppings:
3-4 large whole Dill pickles (or sliced pickles if you're in a hurry!)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tsp minced dill
1 C. precooked crumbled bacon


To prepare: the dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer on, let the ingredients combine for a few seconds, While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and beat until the dough forms a ball. Knead until you have a smooth ball.

Place the dough in a bowl drizzled with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm area to rise until it's doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Drain pickle slices on paper towels to dry them out.

Prepare the Sauce:

Combine the minced garlic and grated garlic in a bowl and add 1/2 c olive oil, 1 tbs minced fresh dill weed and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Add 1 tsp of Italian seasoning.


Blend well, cover and let the flavors marry while the dough rises.

Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 2 equal pieces.
Preheat the oven to 425F

Shape the dough on lightly floured cutting board or on the pizza pan directly. Stir the garlic sauce and spread it generously over the dough. Top with freshly shredded mozzarella and provolone and another drizzle of garlic sauce. Sprinkle lightly with 1 tsp of  dill and bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and cover with pickle slices and crumbled bacon. Return to the oven and cook until the edges are golden., about 20 minutes longer.

Serve with ranch dressing on the side.

I also made a regular pizza as a back up, just in case.

 Yesterday was grooming day for the W's.  Winnie gets a bit wild looking just before grooming.

 Willie was a hot, dirty mess.

 A new dog was returned to us.  Willie was so fluffy he looked twice his size.

And Winnie returned looking like she should be wearing a pink tutu.  This will last 24-48 hours tops.