Garlic Cauliflower Pizza Crust

This crust is a little finickier than my Classic Homemade Crust Recipe, and it requires more of a “go by feel” style since the cauliflower component skews the liquid to flour ratio a bit, but (I think) it’s well worth the effort! This recipe will give you a slightly lighter and more nutritious crust with a nice garlicky undertone…an excellent base layer for whatever toppings you have in store for it!

Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

• Active Dry Yeast – 1 Tablespoon
• Sugar – 1/2 Teaspoon
• Cauliflower – 1/4 of a medium sized one
• Flour – 2 cups
• Garlic – However many cloves you wish…I used 3.
• Possibly some warm water depending on how much cauliflower you have after the puree step (more detail about amount in the method section below)

Method:

• Place your cauliflower in a pot, add water, and boil until soft.
• While the cauliflower begins to boil, pour your yeast and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Returning to the cauliflower, when it’s soft, remove it carefully from the water, put it in your preferred pureeing device (Ninja/Blender/Food Processor), and puree!
• Pour your puree into a measuring cup, and allow it to cool a bit. Grate in your garlic with a microplane grater or garlic press.
  • If you have less than a cup of puree, you’ll want to add some warm water until you get to a cup of total mixture.
• When your cauliflower has cooled a bit so it doesn’t kill the yeast, pour your cauliflower puree over your yeast, and stir to combine.
• Let sit for about 5 minutes to begin to activate the yeast.
• Add your flour, and mix with your dough hook until it’s all incorporated.
  • You may need to use a little more flour here, but you know you’re done when your dough is a nice tacky consistency that isn’t too sticky.
• When your dough is close enough to the right consistency, stash it in a lightly oiled glass bowl, and top it with plastic wrap to rise for an hour or so. About 15 minutes before your rise is done, place your pizza stone in the oven, and preheat it to 425 degrees F.
• When your pizza stone is hot, remove it from the oven, throw down some flour and/or corn meal on your pizza stone, and shape your dough directly on the pizza stone with a rolling pin (much easier this way than shaping then transporting, we found out)
• Bake until done!
• Plate, devour, and enjoy!