Fire Roasted Sausage Pizza {Hodgson Mill} & {GIVEAWAY}

VOTING HAS BEGUN (my pizza is on page 3), Please click HERE to come vote for this delicious PIZZA!

Today, I am here to share with you a "Build a Better Pizza" Facebook Recipe Contest for Hodgson Mill. I am so excited to have gotten the opportunity to create a HEALTHIER pizza crust. The crust was made with 50% Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour and I can tell you that with out a doubt this pizza was delicious in every way. You couldn't even tell it was whole wheat. I don't know why we don't make pizza crust like this every time? Please read below how you can VOTE for me... and enter in the $25 prize package from Hodgson.

We started with the homemade crust and besides the little bit of time needed for rising, the recipe is a cinch to make (I even cleaned out the attic and made the homemade pizza at the same time, just multi-tasking at it's finest). I also included a Homemade Fire Roasted Pizza Sauce, which I was able to sneak in some meat into for my picky son who is a "cheese only pizza" kind'of guy, (score, and extra point for mom). We then topped it off with my favorite Sausage and Black Olives for my half and my sons half was topped with plain ole' cheese (and he loved it too and had no idea I snuck in some protein in the sauce UNDER the cheese).

VOTING JUST STARTED: Come vote for me!  Please head on over to the Facebook Fan Page for Hodgson and VOTE FOR MY PIZZA! Anyone who votes will be automatically entered to win a $25 prize package of your very own. GOOD LUCK and THANK YOU in advance for your vote. 

The more votes I receive from all of you (MY AWESOME READERS), the better chance I have of winning this VERY COOL contest! (Voting ends at 5pm CST on October 30, 2012)

Now, let's get on with this delicious recipe. We started with the easy whole wheat crust...

Fire Roasted Sausage Pizza
created by me, Tina Hudgens

garlic butter pizza crust
1-1/8 cups warm water
1 pkg (8.75 gram) Hodgson Mill Active Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Honey
1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cups Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Hodgson Mill Organic Naturally White All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp of each Basil, Oregano and Italian Seasoning

5 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl combine warm water, package of yeast, honey and olive oil. Whisk and then let it sit until a foamy top forms. Set your timer for 10 minutes, and wait. When you see the foam, add in the flour, kosher salt, garlic powder and the three spices, stirring with a wooden spoon, then kneading with your hands until dough is formed and not sticky (you can add in an extra 1/4 cup flour if needed). Take a tbsp of olive oil and rub into a clean bowl and stick your kneaded dough into this rolling it around a few times. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to raise for 1-1/2 hours. (this is when you get to go clean out the attic, like I did)

As soon as you start your timer on the dough rising, it's best to place your COLD pizza stone into a COLD oven. Yes, place it in a cold oven, then turn on the oven to 500 degrees and let it sit in there until you are ready to cook your pizza.

(NOTE: begin making your pizza sauce now, if you haven't already so that it can simmer on the stove for 45 minutes along with your rising of your crust - I love to multi-task!)

Once your dough is ready, lay out flour on a flat surface and begin kneading some more. It's best if you have a pizza board to place this on, because it's almost impossible to move it to the hot pizza stone in the oven without one. Using a rolling pin or your hands form your desired crust, we like it traditional round. Once you have your desired shape, place a towel over crust and let rise in a warm place for 10 additional minutes. (This dough could easily make two smaller thinner crust pizzas just by dividing the dough in half. We choose to make one super duper thick pizza crust and I can tell you we LOVE LOVE LOVED the thick crust.)

Now it's ready for the garlic butter sauce. Melt 5 tbsp butter and mix the 1 tsp or minced garlic into the melted butter. Apply to the pizza dough, once complete sprinkle on the red pepper flakes and the Parmesan cheese before spreading on the pizza sauce.

Fire Roasted Pizza Sauce
created by me, Tina Hudgens

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (we used Tomatoes and Green Chilies combined)
1 cup Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp of each Oregano, Basil, Garlic Powder, Kosher Salt, Pepper and Italian Seasoning
1 whole bay leaf
1 cup cooked sausage, crumbled very fine (to sneak past the little boy)

1 small can tomato paste (use to your liking & thickness)

Throw all of the above ingredients (except tomato paste) into a sauce pan and cook until it boils. Lower to simmer and cook for 45 minutes on simmer. Once your crust is ready to go, then take your pizza sauce and mix with the desired about of tomato paste to your liking (I used the whole can for all of my sauce, I don't like running sauce). The sauce recipes make enough for about 2 to 3 pizza crusts depending on how little or how much sauce you like.

FREEZER TIP: When I make this sauce, I like that it makes extra and I can freeze for another pizza day. Here is what I do, take a wide mouth cup and fold over a ziploc bag (this saves you from a mess), then take 1 cup of sauce and pour into the baggie, then it's ready to freeze into individual servings. (I love having extra homemade pizza sauce on hand).

And now this wonderful delicious pizza is complete, ready to go into the oven. Change the oven degrees to 350 and then place the pizza on the hot pizza stone in the oven. Cook for about 25 - 30 minutes and you will have delicious pipping hot pizza, that you made from scratch. ENJOY!


Please come vote for me on the "Build a Better Pizza" Facebook Recipe Contest for Hodgson Mill.

Giveaway Rules: No rules, no requirements. Just leave a comment and you are entered to win a $25 prize package from Hodgson Mill.

It's an EASY giveaway to win! Good Luck!
Winner will be picked on Monday 10/15/12

Hodgson Mill is providing the products for this post 

at no cost to me for review, the opinions in this post are entirely mine.