2 3/4cupsall purpose flour, plus more as needed (some or all of this can be whole wheat)
2/3cuplukewarm water
1 1/2teaspoonsinstant yeast (or 2 teaspoons active dry, or 1 tablespoon fresh)
1 3/4teaspoonsalt
2tablespoonsolive oil
The pizzas:
4tablespoonsolive oil
1 1/2cupsor so tomato sauce (bought, or homemade)
8 - 12oz.mozzarella, sliced
2 - 4oz.goat cheese
1/3cupoil cured olives, pitted and halved
a few basil leaves, sliced
Instructions
The dough:
Peel and quarter the taters, put in a pot and cover with water. Boil until tender but not falling apart, 10 minutes or so. Drain and let cool until they are handleable, then put through a ricer if you are cool enough to have one (I'm not) or grate on the large holes of a box grater.Combine all the ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a big bowl with a wooden spoon, you stud!) Mix on low until combined, then increase the speed to medium-low and knead for 5 minutes or so until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a minute or two to adjust the consistency. The dough should be soft and moist, but not overly sticky. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (or slide into a clean trash bag.) Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
The pizzas:
Position an oven rack in the lowest and highest positions. Place a baking stone or (heavy baking sheet) on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 500º.Coat the bottoms of two 10" cake or pie pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Pat each into 9" rounds. Cover with plastic and let rest 10 minutes, then place in the pans and press them up the sides to make a 1" lip. (Mine wouldn't stay up the sides, but still turned out fine.) Cover with plastic and let rise until doubled, about 1/2 hour.
Remove the plastic and prick the crusts all over with a fork. Place in the oven on the stone and reduce the oven temperature to 425º. Bake 5 - 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the pans and divide the toppings between the pies: sauce, mozzarella, then olives and goat cheese. Return to the stone and bake for 10 minutes more to melt the cheese. Put the pans on the upper rack and bake about 5 more minutes, til the cheese is brown and bubbly.
Remove the pans, sprinkle with the basil, and let cool a few minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to slip them onto a board. Cut into slices.
Notes
Since this dough contains yeast, your starter doesn't need to be perfectly lively. You can use starter that hasn't been fed in a while, or starter that you're just beginning to build up. Just make sure it smells and tastes pleasant.You can bake two 10" pies, or one 14 incher if you have a 14" pan (who has that?) I used a 10" ceramic tart pan, but a pie or cake pan would work, too. The dough keeps well in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for a month or two, if you want to make your pizzas in increments.Total cooking time: 2 1/2 hoursTimeline:cook the tater and make the dough: 30 minutes.first rise: 1 hour.second rise: 30 minutes.baking: 30 minutes.Nutritional values are based on one of six servings.