A homemade pizza crust topped with sauce, spicy taco meat, mozzarella, and pepperjack cheeses
Yield:
12 slices
Ingredients:
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-112 degrees F)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry yeast
Meat topping:
1/2 pound (8 ounces) ground beef (about 1 1/4 cups after being cooked)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
Other toppings:
1 cup pizza sauce
crushed red pepper, optional
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded pepperjack cheese
1/4 to 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
thinly sliced onions, optional
Instructions:
1. Make crust by combining the first 4 crust ingredients in a bowl and stirring. Add flour and yeast all at once and stir until thick. Knead into a smooth dough, adding additional flour only if necessary. Knead for about 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, skip this rising time and go on to step 3.
If using a bread machine to knead the dough: Place crust ingredients into bread machine in order listed. Set to the dough setting. When dough is finished, move on to step 3.
2. While dough is rising, brown meat with onions and garlic. Drain excess grease. Return to heat and add the water and additional seasonings. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, until meat is well-coated and no water remains in the pan.
3. Press or roll dough to fit on a greased 16-inch round pizza pan (or a combination of smaller pans to suit your taste). This crust recipe will produce a meduim-thickness crust for a 16-inch round pizza pan.
4. Top crust with pizza sauce. Sprinkle red pepper flakes if using. Sprinkle prepared meat evenly over pizza sauce, then top with the cheeses, dispersed evenly over the top. Add green pepper and onion, if using.
5. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place pizza in the middle (or slightly lower than the middle, but not at the top) of the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until top is golden. You may need to experiment a little with the type of pan you’re using and your oven. I currently use a thin non-stick pizza pan with holes in the bottom, and my pizza bakes for 12 minutes exactly, every time. If the top of your pizza is too browned, but the crust doesn’t appear fully cooked, turn off the oven, crack the oven door, and allow pizza to set for a few minutes. Cut into 12 slices and serve!
