Pizza with Prosciutto and Brie

Californians will put anything on a pizza.  The more bizarre the ingredient, the more likely we are to try it.  I had a hoisin duck pizza once that was fantastic.  Sauces are not exempt from this treatment.  Anything that coats the dough so things will stick to it is fair game.

Writer Smurf made something similar to this on their visit, and then I had half a jar of apple butter left.  I've never used it before.  Now that I know a spreadable applesauce exists, I'll be more likely to have it again.  I couldn't remember exactly what she put on her pizza, so I picked up ingredients that I knew would taste good together and with the apple butter.  You could substitute barbecue sauce, but I wouldn't recommend regular pizza sauce.  It would drown out the delicate taste of the prosciutto.

And again, I'm posting a dough recipe, but you can buy pre-made 6" pizza bases.  That's what Writer Smurf did, and it came out fine.

Pizza Dough
1 C 100º water
*1-1/4 tsp dry yeast
1 Tb sugar
2 Tb olive oil
about 3 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
*cornmeal for dusting

1.  Stir together warm water, yeast, sugar, and olive oil.  Allow to sit until lightly foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.  In stand mixer with paddle, stir together liquids and 1 C flour.  Beat into a batter.  Add another cup of flour and the salt and beat about 2 minutes into a stringy, thick batter.

Before kneading

3.  Pour dough onto a heavily floured (about 1/2 C) work surface and top with a dusting of more flour.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat all sides.  Proof in a warm place for about an hour, until dough is doubled.

Smooth and Elastic

4.  Punch down dough and let rest on the work surface while you prepare toppings.  When ready, divide dough into four pieces and roll out each with a rolling pin to at least 6".  The dough will spring back smaller at first, but will eventually rise again and spread out a bit.  Coat two cookie sheets with a generous amount of cornmeal and place two circles on each sheet.  Top (see below), then start to preheat oven to 375º.  That will give the pizzas time to rise and rebound while the oven is heating.  Bake 15-18 minutes, until dough is lightly browned.  Allow to cool a couple of minutes before serving.

Topping
4 C kale, finely chopped
1/4 C diced onion
1 Tb olive oil
1/4 C apple butter
4 oz prosciutto
4 oz brie

1.  In a large pan, sauté the onion in oil until tender.  Add kale and cook over medium-low heat until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes.

2.  When ready to assemble pizzas, spread 1 Tb of apple butter on each dough circle.  It doesn't take a lot of sauce to coat a pizza.

3.  Follow the apple butter by dividing the kale between the pizzas.  It's important the kale goes next, or it will dry out.  Ditto for the prosciutto.  Tear it into small pieces and use it to top the kale.  The brie goes last, as its oils will keep the other two from getting too dry and they will keep the brie's oils from getting into the crust and preventing it from baking thoroughly.

4.  Bake at 375º as stated above, and don't try to serve it while it's too hot.  Everyone can wait a few minutes.

Difficulty rating :-0