Bruschetta Pizza & Jay's Signature Pizza Crust!

This one is a "two-fer"! I had stumbled upon "Bruschetta Pizza" at Recipe Shoebox and had been craving something bruschetta for awhile now and with hubby not eating much this week while he recoups I thought a veggie version of the bruschetta pizza would be PERFECT for me!! I was very excited to try this one out, and it did not disappoint. The original recipe called for a pre-baked crust (like a boboli crust) but I couldn't find one at the store I stopped at to get some fresh basil! Weird, yes, and I'm sure it was there somewhere but I didn't want to track someone down to help me locate it so I decided to just make my own.

Starting with the pizza crust ingredients - AP and whole wheat flour, active dry yeast, salt, olive oil and brown sugar.

The brown sugar and yeast went into the warm water and were stirred to combine and then allowed to rest for about 10 minutes.

The mixture was starting to get creamy and form bubbles so it was time for the next ingredients!

In went the salt.

Followed by the olive oil.

Then the AP flour.

And the whole wheat!

I turned on the mixer (scraping down the sides as needed) and let the mixer do the work.

I oiled a bowl for the dough to rise in.

Dough ball! Ready to rise!

I put the dough ball in the bowl and flipped it once to get the oil evenly distributed on both sides.

I covered that with a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm place for an hour.

I added about a tablespoon each of olive oil, butter and minced garlic to a small pot and let that simmer about 5-10 minutes until the garlic was starting to brown.

Down went some flour for rolling out the dough!

See how pretty, all nice and risen!

I flipped the dough out onto the floured counter and added a little more flour until it was no longer tacky.

Ready to roll it out! My little helper (aka my son!) jumped in and did this task - he likes doing it, and who am I to argue?

When it was close to time for the dough to be ready, I went head and started getting some of the pizza ingredients prepared!

I diced up three pretty Roma tomatoes.

See the garlic butter mixture starting to get darker... imagine the garlicky butter smells... mmm...

The dough was all rolled out and ready to go!

I spread the garlic mixture over the crust.

Drool. Then this went in the oven for about 10 minutes to pre-bake.

Next came the bruschetta mixture! Yummy diced tomatoes.

Followed by some thinly sliced fresh basil (I adore fresh basil!!)

Look at those gorgeous colors!! The minced garlic joined the party.

Followed by the balsamic, sage and salt!

Here is the very lovely pre-baked pizza crust!

Topped with cheese and I put some mushrooms and bacon on Kent's side since that's what he asked for!

The bruschetta mixture is all combined and allowed to rest and get yummy and juicy while the pizza finishes baking!

Pizza from the oven - hot and melty! Yumm!

Delicious, garlicky, cheesy balsamicy bruschetta covered pizza. This was fantastic... The amount of bruschetta I made was barely enough to cover my half of the pizza, because I piled it on THICK! That stuff was fantastic!! I really enjoyed it. I think I might put a thin layer of sauce under the cheese next time so the crust isn't quite so dry, but there is quite a bit of liquid in the bruschetta mixture you can spread on top too for a little extra "sauce"! YUMM!!! I will definitely make this again and will use this bruschetta mixture for other things too. So good! :)

Bruschetta Pizza recipe adapted from Recipe Shoebox

1 pre-baked Italian bread shell crust (14-oz.) (or one home made pre-baked pizza crust such as Jay's Signature Pizza Crust below)

2 cups (8-oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1-1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (about 3-4 small)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 TBS minced)
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme (or 1/8 tsp. dried thyme)
1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions
Place crust on an ungreased baking sheet. Top with cheese. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted.

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, sliced basil, oil, garlic, thyme, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Spoon over pizza. Garnish with additional basil if desired.

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust slightly adapted from AllRecipes
Makes: 1 large pizza crust

Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 -2 cups all-purpose flour (as much as needed)

Crust Topping:
1 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS minced garlic

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

When yeast mixture is creamy stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky (or use dough hook and mix in mixer). Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

For pre-baking for Bruschetta Pizza: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil the pizza pan before placing the rolled out dough on it, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

While the dough is completing it's final rise before adding toppings, combine crust topping ingredients (butter, olive oil and minced garlic) in a small pan over medium heat on the stove. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until garlic is turning golden brown. When the dough is ready for toppings, brush the garlic mixture on evenly over the pie crust and either pre-bake for about 10 minutes prior to adding cheese or add toppings directly over the garlic mixture and bake as directed.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.