Friday Night Pizza with Miso-Caramelized Onions and Shiitake “Bacon”

• 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4½ teaspoons fast-acting yeast (two standard ¼-ounce packets)
• 1 cup hot water (about 125°F)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons barley malt syrup, honey, or light agave syrup
• 1 cup semolina flour or fine cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon dried herbs such as tarragon, oregano, thyme, or basil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Place 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, and the hot water into a food processor and pulse until completely combined. Add the olive oil, barley malt syrup, semolina flour, dried herbs, salt, paprika, and black pepper, and pulse to combine, then add 1 cup of the remaining flour and process the dough until it forms into a ball; add more flour as necessary until you get a soft dough that isn’t sticky. If the dough is too dry, you can add 1 teaspoon of hot water at a time until you get a pliable dough. Process the dough for about 30 seconds; lightly flour a countertop and turn the dough out onto the counter. Knead by hand for another 30 seconds, until it feels smooth, then cover it with a large bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes.
2. After 20 minutes, the dough should be lightly puffed and softened. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. At this point, you can prepare the crusts for the pizza, or you can wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to three days before using. Or you can shape each piece of dough into crusts (see recipe below) and freeze the crusts on a sheet pan lightly dusted with flour, then wrap each crust tightly in freezer-safe plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.
3. Note: If you don’t have a food processor, don’t despair. You can use a large bowl and your clean hands to mix up the dough — it’ll just take about an extra 10 minutes!

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt to taste

1. Place the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano and paprika in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth (no more than lightly chunky). Add salt to taste. Can be refrigerated for up to one week in an airtight container, or frozen for up to three months.

Makes 1½ to 2 cups

• 3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons yellow or red miso (fermented soybean paste)

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the miso and stir gently until it begins to dissolve; add the onions and stir to coat in the oil and miso. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the miso is completely dissolved, and the onions become soft, golden and fragrant, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to one week, or frozen for up to three months.

Makes 1½ to 2 cups

• 12 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Spray vegetable or olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, olive oil, soy sauce, and smoked paprika, toss them together well. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with vegetable or olive oil, then spread the sliced shiitake mushroom mixture on top. Spray the tops of the mushrooms very lightly with oil, then bake until the slices are browned and crispy, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

• ½ pizza dough recipe, recipe above
• ½ cup sun-dried tomato pizza sauce, recipe above
• 1 cup miso caramelized onions, recipe above
• 1 cup shiitake “bacon,” recipe above
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1. Dust the countertop with ⅛ cup of flour mixed with a tablespoon of semolina flour or cornmeal. Take one half of the pizza dough and loosely form into a ball in your hands, then gently flatten into a disk on the countertop. Pick up the disk and hold it between your fingertips, leaving about an inch at the edges, constantly turning the disk in a circular motion to allow the disk to lightly stretch down toward the countertop as you turn it. When the disk is about an 8-inch circle, you can place it on the countertop and use your fingertips to continue stretching it into a larger circle, being sure to leave the edges a little thicker. Using a rolling pin, you can lightly roll the center of the dough out towards the edges, until you have a circle that’s about 13-inches in diameter. Fold over the edges of the dough about 1-inch all the way around, lightly crimping with your fingertips.
2. Take a sheet of parchment paper and gently slide it underneath the shaped pizza dough.
3. Preheat oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone, make sure that’s placed on the bottom rack of the oven as it preheats; if you don’t have a pizza stone, then you can use a half-sheet pan instead.
4. Spoon the sun-dried tomato sauce on top of the prepared dough, using the back of the spoon to spread it evenly across the entire surface. Scatter the caramelized onions, then sprinkle the shiitake “bacon” on top. Sprinkle the oregano and dried red pepper flakes across the surface of the pizza, Brush the crimped edges with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle a little sea salt on the edges all the way around the pizza. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil across the top.
5. Slide the pizza with the parchment paper onto a pizza peel, using the peel to slide the pizza and parchment paper onto the heated pizza stone or sheet pan. Bake until the crust is puffed and golden and the surface is bubbling, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and place on a cutting board, discard the parchment paper, cut into wedges, and enjoy!