Brian spreads a roasted-garlic paste on the dough under the mushrooms and potatoes, which gives this pizza an irresistible fragrance. If you have access to wild mushrooms, by all means use them. Bellwether Farms Crescenza cheese is a soft, supple, young cow’s milk cheese that melts well; mozzarella is stretchier, but a good substitute.
Recipe information
Yield
makes four 8-inch pizzas
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice about 1/4 inch off the stem end (opposite the root end) of the garlic head to expose the individual cloves. Put the whole garlic head, root end down, on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Seal the foil package and place in the oven until the cloves are soft, 45 to 50 minutes. (You will have to open the package to check.) Let cool. Squeeze the softened garlic cloves out of the papery skins and mash with 2 tablespoons olive oil into a paste.
Step 2
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain.
Step 3
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and sauté until well browned, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes longer to release the garlic fragrance.
Step 4
At least 45 minutes before baking, put a pizza stone on a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to its highest setting (500°F to 550°F).
Step 5
With lightly floured fingers on a lightly floured work surface, flatten a ball of pizza dough into a round. Pick up the round with both hands and, grasping the round by an edge, rotate the dough clockwise between your fingertips, always holding it by the edge. As you rotate the dough, stretch it into an 8-inch circle; the dough will also stretch and lengthen from its own weight. Alternatively, drape the flattened round over your lightly floured knuckles and rotate the dough, moving your knuckles slightly farther apart, until the round stretches into an 8-inch circle. Place the dough on a pizza peel lightly dusted with cornmeal or durum flour. Work quickly now to prevent sticking.
Step 6
Brush the dough with one-quarter of the garlic paste. Top with one-quarter of the potato slices, then scatter with one-quarter of the mushrooms. Distribute the Crescenza cheese in 5 or 6 clumps, using a total of 2 ounces. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Slide onto the pizza stone and bake until the crust is brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Step 7
Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and scatter a handful of arugula over the surface. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining 3 balls of dough.
Step 8
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay or another rich, barrel-fermented Chardonnay.
