Sweet Potato & Gorgonzola Pizza

Recipe thanks to Curtis Di Fede of The Charter Oak

This recipe makes 4 medium pizzas

Pizza Dough:
2½ cups of 00 flour
1½ cups of water (room temperature)
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
3½ tea spoons kosher salt
1 cup of 00 flour for dusting

Pizza Ingredients:
1 small sweet potato
1 head of escarole (or bitter green like radicchio)
6 cloves garlic
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 ball or 4 ounces of mozzarella di buffala
4 ounces of Gorgonzola dolce de latte 
½ cup of Italian pine nuts
Semolina flour for dusting under pizza peel

Tools for this Recipe: Pizza oven stone, pizza peel, rolling pin if you are not stretching by hand

Pizza Dough Method: (Start 2 days prior before you are ready to bake pizzas)
In a large bowl sift in your 00 flour and mix with the yeast. Separate your water into one cup and ½ a cup. Add your salt to the ½ cup of water and set aside. In the large bowl with the flour and the yeast, add your one cup of water and mix until all of the water has been absorbed. 3-5 minutes. DO NOT OVER MIX during this process. Set bowl aside with a moist towel over the top for 35 minutes. Once the dough has rested for 35 minutes add the last half cup of water with the salt to your dough mixture. Mix well. About 15 minutes. Next place the incorporated mixed dough into an air tight container for two days to proof. After two days, remove from the air tight container and separate into 4 equal pieces. Roll your pizza pieces into nice dough balls as best as you can. Dust a flat container that has an air tight lid and place your dough balls into the air tight container 4-5 inches from each other so they do not stick together. If you do not have a container that can fit, all 4 dough balls use several containers to keep from sticking. Set out at room temperature for 2 hours. 

Pizza Toppings and Baking Method
Pre-heat an oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice your sweet potatoes on a mandolin ¼ of an inch thick. Toss in olive oil and lay onto a baking sheet and cook in the 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. I like to use olive oil to cook with and extra virgin olive oil to garnish/finish or in items that are not going to be cooked.  Next in an oven safe pot, smash your six clove of garlic and place into the pot and cover with the 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil. Place into the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Chop or tear your escarole into bite sized pieces and get all of the ingredients out to place onto the pizza. Turn up oven to 450 with the pizza stone in the oven. 

Next roll stretch one dough ball with your hands or if you would like use a rolling pin. Make sure if you are using a rolling pin to place some extra 00 flour onto your counter top. Once the dough is stretched or rolled out place a liberal amount of semolina flour on to your peel. Next place the dough on to you peel and start adding your toppings as desired. Be sure not to leave the dough too long on the peel because than it will stick. Take the pizza peel and shimmy the dough on to the pizza stone and close the oven. Bake for 7-15 minutes or until the pizza is golden brown. Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and finish with the Italian pine nuts and the garlic olive oil. Slice and then serve.