Pizza with Roasted Garlic, Basil, and Tomatoes

**First, thank you to everyone for the words of support concerning our bank situation I wrote about yesterday. And thank you especially to Suzanne, Jess V. Jenn, Lindsay, and Tom for purchasing prints to help us get back on our feet. For anyone else interested in purchasing a print, head over to here - meganlee.etsy.com :)**


Now to the recipe!



This is my favorite pizza now. I've made it twice in one week already. I love the roasted garlic flavor, it really is what makes this great instead of good. Don't leave it out!

1 head of garlic
splash of olive oil
sprinkle the salt

Cut the top of the garlic off to expose the cloves then place on a piece of foil. Drizzle a little oil and salt on top, wrap up in the foil to enclose completely, then roast on a pan for 1 hour at 400F. When it's out of the oven, open the foil to release the steam and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to handle when it comes time to squeeze out the cloves.




Dough:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp salt

Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl and let sit for ten minutes. Add in flour, oil and salt and mix together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute then let rest for 5 minutes.



Roll out to 2 inches larger than your cookie sheet on all sides. Flour the surface and flip dough as you roll so as not to stick to the counter.

Pour about 2-3 TBS of olive oil onto your cookie sheet and use your fingers to cover the bottom and sides thoroughly. Lay your rolled dough on the cookie sheet and roll up the edges to form a nice crust.



Have your whole head of roasted garlic ready to go at this point.



Squeeeeeeeeeze and get 'em all out!



Ta-Da!




Use a rubber spatula to spread the cloves as evenly as possible over the dough.



For the toppings:
4 oz mozzarella, shredded
1 small bunch of basil leaves
2 tomatoes, sliced
fresh ground pepper to taste

Layer on the cheese, then basil, then tomato slices and a little pepper. Now brush the edges with olive oil and sprinkle them with garlic salt. Yuuummmmyyy.



Bake in a preheated oven at 450 F for 15-20 minutes. (I use two spatulas to remove from the pan and place on a cutting board for easier slicing)



And if you're like me and you love a sauce to dip your crusts in, mix together:

3 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning

:)