Mushroom, Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza

This has got to be one of my new favorite pizzas! It's almost more like a flatbread than a pizza, but whatever you call it, it's delicious. I found this recipe for Portobello Mushroom, Fresh Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza on allrecipes and changed it up a bit to use what I had on hand, and came up with this yummy version...


Mushroom, Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza
adapted from allrecipes

1 recipe pizza crust* (I used my favorite pizza crust recipe, but I think this would work great on a Boboli crust as well)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed, or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced white mushrooms
1/2 - 1 cup crumbled goat cheese, depending on how much you like goat cheese ;)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

optional 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella -- I added this the second time I made this pizza, just to make it cheesier -- photo below is of the extra cheesy version...


Whisk the roasted garlic into the olive oil and brush it evenly over your crust. Add a little of the cheese, then your mushrooms and peppers...


top with the remainder of the cheese, then drizzle with the balsamic vinegar.

*in the above photo you may notice some sun dried tomatoes, these ended up burning in the high temperature oven so I took them off

Baking times vary based on the dough you use, if you are baking on a pizza stone I'd say 5-7 minutes at 500 degrees, if you are baking on a baking sheet -- I'd say 15-20 minutes at 375. The original recipe from allrecipes calls for 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until the edges are golden brown. There are so many variables when it comes to baking a pizza at home, from what you bake it on (sheet, baking stone, sheet with air vents, etc.) and the dough you use. Just keep an eye on the pizza and take it out when you think it looks done.

I have gotten into the habit of baking my pizzas on a pizza screen on a pizza stone preheated to the highest temperature my oven goes (which is a little over 500) this ensures a nice crispy bottom and chewy crust. I have a double wall oven and the lower oven (the smaller one) is my "pizza oven" since I can get the temperature higher (it is a knob control versus the digital temperature control of my upper oven). I also keep the baking stone in the lower oven all the time so I don't forget to preheat the stone in the oven when I turn it on.


Easy Pizza Crust

3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Put the ingredients in your machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer, in my Oster you put the wet ingredients first, layer the flour on top, and end with the additional dry ingredients and yeast. Set it on dough cycle and press into your pizza pan, this makes two smaller round pizzas, or one big rectangular pizza, the size of a large cookie sheet.

*This is our old standby pizza crust recipe and I usually double to make two large pizzas. Happy pizza night to you and yours :)