Beet Pizza

I spied the recipe for this dough about a year ago, and it took me that long to actually attempt it. Why? Fear of beets. When I was little I was tricked into eating a beet (canned) by a family member who told me it was cranberry sauce. I've been wary ever since...

However, when a couple beets found themselves in my kitchen along with a week's worth of other CSA vegetables, I decided this would be the way to ease myself into them. I made the dough and froze it for two weeks, knowing I wouldn't be around to cook. It thawed nicely, so that's a trick to keep in mind in future.

-3/4 c. cooked, pureed beets
-1/4 c. + 1 T. warm water
-1 package active dry yeast
-1 t. raw sugar
-2 T. olive oil
-3 c. white whole wheat flour
-1 t. salt

1. Cook the beets until they are soft (I used a microwave). Cube and puree the beets (I used an immersion blender--if you plan on doing this, get ready for at least a little high velocity beet splatter...), and then add the warm water.
2. Combine the beets, sugar, yeast, and oil in a large bowl. Gradually add the flour and salt, stirring until a dough forms. (This would probably be easier with a stand mixer. My hand-stand mixer can't handle bread doughs very well, so I usually just do this by hand.) When it has all come together, knead for an additional 2 minutes on a floured surface.
3. Place the kneaded dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover it and let the dough rise for at least an hour, until doubled in size.
4. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead a few minutes. (At this point it can be baked, or frozen.)
5. Divide the dough in two, and stretch onto baking sheets that have been oiled and sprinkled with cornmeal.


-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 t. red pepper flakes
-2 sprigs fresh oregano
-pizza sauce
-fresh fontina or mozzarella, shredded
-1/2 bunch asparagus, blanched and cut into 2" pieces
-fresh basil leaves

1. Brush the top of the pizzas with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the minced garlic, half of the red pepper flakes, and half of the fresh oregano on each pizza.
2. Cover with as much sauce as you like (I was overly enthusiastic with the sauce and a little spilled over when baking...).
3. Top with cheese and asparagus. Finish with basil leaves.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 425* F.


(We ate it before I could take the "after" photo... It looked pretty good though.)

The dough is good! It has a very subtle beet flavor--it doesn't dominate the pizza, but you can definitely tell it's there. Also, it makes the dough such a gorgeous red color--with the white and green toppings it felt very Italian! I'll certainly make this again.