This sausage gravy pizza is my pizza take on a sausage hoagie with peppers and onions. While it's full of flavor, it feels pretty light thanks to the vegetables and to the lovely, crisp crust. Plus, if you're a fan of biscuits and gravy, you will be happy to know you can still get that flavor in a much more reasonable portion size (and I am not judging. I could eat my weight in biscuits and gravy)!
The crust recipe is from Revolutionary Pizza by Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau. The rest is mine.
252gramscold water(I ended up using 1 extra teaspoon for a total of 257. Play it by ear, but 252 will get you very close)
20gramskosher salt
25gramssugar
15gramsextra virgin olive oil
6gramsactive dry yeast
420gramshigh gluten flour(I used King Arthur Bread Flour)
Equal parts cornmeal and flour for rolling and shaping, probably 2-3 Tablespoons of each
For the Sausage Gravy
4oz(1/4 pound) bulk breakfast sausage
½teaspoonrubbed sage(or poultry seasoning)
1Tablespoonflour
a touch of kosher salt, to taste--the sausage is plenty salty, so go easy
a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½cupwhole milk(or 2%)
To Finish and Bake
2Tablespoonsbutter, melted
3ozshredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided use
5-6small, sweet peppers, washed and cut into thin rings
1small bunch green onions, washed. You will use some of the white part and some of the green
Instructions
For the Crust
In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the water, salt, sugar and yeast really well.
Whisk in the oil and then immediately dump in the flour.
With the dough hook, mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough passes the windowpane test. The dough will be just barely sticky and will both clear the sides and bottom of the bowl during kneading.
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions (my entire batch weighed 727 grams, so I scaled my dough at 363/4 grams.
Knead each piece a few times on the counter, folding it in on itself in several directions in preparation for working it into a ball.
With the smooth side of the dough up, cup your hands around it and let the friction of the counter help you pull the skin taut, shaping each piece into a lovely, smooth round.
Spray with some oil and cover right where they sit. Let rise for at least two hours.
After 2 hours, refrigerate one piece (or both). You will only need one round of dough for this pizza. If you do refrigerate the dough, make sure to let it come up to room temperature before shaping and topping.
For the Sausage Gravy
Brown the sausage in a heavy-bottomed skillet.
Drain the sausage in a colander set over a bowl to catch excess fat. You do want to keep about 1-2 Tablespoons of the fat for the roux, though,.
Return the drained sausage along with 1-2 Tablespoons of the fat
Season with the sage or poultry seasoning, a light pinch of salt and as much pepper as you like.
Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbly, about 2 minutes or so.
Pour in the milk and let mixture come to a boil, stirring frequently.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let gravy come to room temperature before spreading on the dough. If you refrigerate the gravy, it will firm up, so stir in enough milk to make it easily spreadable, maybe 1-2 Tablespoons.
To Finish and Bake
Preheat the oven to as high as it will go. Mine goes to 500F. Place a rack in the bottom position and put your stone on the rack. Place another rack in the middle position. Preheat for a good 45 minutes.
The dough is really easy to work with. Sprinkle some of the flour/cornmeal onto your work surface and a bit more on top of the round of dough. Gently stretch it out into a large circle or oval with thin center and a slightly thicker rim--whatever fits on your stone (if you don't have a baking stone or baking steel, stack 2-3 cookie sheets together or bakes smaller pies in a cast iron skillet. You want enough mass that it will hold the heat).
If you have a peel, use that. I don't, so I use the back of a cookie sheet. Regardless, sprinkle some flour/cornmeal on whatever you're using as a peel, and place the stretched dough on it. Make sure it slides easily.
Slide the naked dough onto the hot stone and bake for 4 minutes. It will bubble up in some places, but that's okay.
When the time is up, pull the naked, par-baked pizza out. Brush the melted butter all over the outside edges of the pizza. This is optional, but you should totally do it.
Spread the sausage gravy evenly over the pizza, leaving about 1/2"-1" clear all around.
Sprinkle on about half the cheese followed by the pepper rings and 2-3 Tablespoons of diced green onions (the white and light green parts).
Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes. (**See Note below)
Remove the pizza again and top with the rest of the cheese.
Bake for another minute on the bottom rack and then broil for a minute or two on the middle rack. (Move the pizza, stone and all if it's not too heavy. If it is, use the peel to transfer the pizza to the middle shelf, stone-free.)
Remove the pizza from the oven to a rack to cool a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with some more diced green onions (the green part this time), slice and serve.
Notes
**If it seems fussy to pull the pizza out and then put it back in multiple times, this is the best way I know to ensure a crisp crust, some crusty cheese and some melty cheese with no burned toppings. Trust me on this.