Smoked Salmon and Pesto Pizza

Put the warm water in a small bowl. Dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt in the water. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl of you stand mixer with dough hook attached. Gradually add in flour until the dough forms a ball and begins to pull away from the sides.

Lightly dust a cutting board, and transfer the dough to it. Knead it for 5-7 minutes adding flour as necessary. Dough should be tacky but not overly sticky. Form into a ball and fold under itself so the top of the ball is tight.

In another bowl drizzle the 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil (plus more if this amount isn’t enough to coat the entire bowl) and swirl around so the bowl is evenly coated. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Once risen, transfer the dough to a floured surface and cut it into 3 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then cover with a tea towel to let rest for about 30 minutes.

At this point, if you are using a pizza stone, place it in the oven and preheat oven to 475 F.

Now prepare your pesto. In your food processor, with the blade attached, crush the nuts by pulsing until it becomes slightly granulated. Add the Pecorino cheese, a dash of salt and pepper, basil, arugula and spinach. Pulse until all ingredients are completely incorporated. While you have the food processor running, start to drizzle in your extra-virgin olive oil until it reaches the consistency you desire (we used about a cup).

Shape your 3 balls of pizza dough into large rounds onto a pizza peel (if you are using one). Spread the pesto onto the pizza dough and sprinkle with goat cheese and layer with the sliced salmon. Top with a few more goat cheese crumbles. Slide the pizzas onto the hot pizza stone and bake for about 8 minutes or until the dough begins to brown. Remove from the oven and let the pizzas sit for about 3-4 minutes before serving. Enjoy!