Stuffed Pizza with Spinach

from The Great Chicago-Style Pizza Cookbook by Pasquale Bruno, Jr.

You'll need a 12 inch pizza pan, 2 inches deep

Dough

3 teaspoons sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (105F - 115F)
3 1/4 cups (more or less) bread flour
3 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce

1 28-ounce can 6-1 brand tomatoes and 1 16-ounce can 6-1 brand tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Stuff

1/4 pound fresh spinach
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated

Dough: Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Set aside.
Mix flour and salt in a large 4 to 5-quart mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour; add the yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until a rough mass of dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface; knead for 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft. Dust with flour if the dough sticks to your hands. Dust the dough lightly with flour; place in a lightly floured mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set it in a warm place to rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk.
Punch down the dough; turn it out onto a work surface and knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into pieces -- 1 slightly larger. Roll out the larger piece (this will be the bottom layer of dough) until it is about 3 inches larger than the pan and 1/8 inch thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the dough in the pan; push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 1 inch. Trim off the excess overlap with a knife. Set the pan aside. Roll out the second piece of dough until it is about the same size as the pan.

Sauce: Drain off all the liquid from each can and crush the tomatoes with your hands and then add the remaining ingredients (do not cook).

Stuffing: Wash the spinach thoroughly and dry it completely. Remove the stems. Finely chop the leaves (food processor works nicely). In a 2- to 3-quart mixing bowl, combine the spinach and mozzarella.

To Assemble and Bake: Preheat the oven to 475F. Put the spinach and cheese mixture into the pan. Lay the second piece of dough over the spinach-cheese mixture. Crimp the 2 edges of dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand. Cut a 1-inch slit in the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the top crust.
Bake the pizza in the preheated oven, on the lowest rack, for 10 minutes. Move the pizza to an oven rack 2 slots above the lower rack and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.

I make modifications to this when I make it. I tend to add a chopped up green pepper, and usually an entire head of chopped garlic to the stuffing, as well as doubling the amount of cheese (and the last time I made it the only complaint I got was that it could have used more cheese). I also modify the sauce by adding a lot more spices and some red wine. The crust turns out quite nicely if you follow the recipe exactly. I've toyed with making the dough in my bread machine but haven't tried it that way yet.

[kristin buxton] [food]