Four Pepper Pizza + Date Night

THIS RECIPE IS SPONSORED BY DELALLO | OPINIONS ARE MY OWN

In our home, the ideal “date night” doesn’t involve getting gussied up and wearing uncomfortable shoes to a lavish restaurant where we have to sit all stiff-like. Sure, my husband and I clean up very well, but there’s something about those types of places that makes me feel apprehensive and anxious. Am I sitting up straight enough? Should I have painted my nails red instead of turquoise? Did I make things weird when I told the waiter he could fill my wine glass to the top?

I guess that’s why the ideal date night in our home involves homemade pizza, a good flick, and grocery store-bought wine.

Fill that glass.

To me, there’s something incredibly romantic about cooking with that special someone in the comfort of a shared kitchen space. When I’m all floured-up and kneading dough on the counter with my husband standing next to me slicing toppings with great precision, it is downright swoon-worthy. Forget the pottery scene from Ghost; our pizza making is way more amorous.

And this Four Pepper Pizza? What a way to spice things up!

For our most recent date night in, we gave DeLallo’s Italian Pizza Dough Kit a whirl.

This pizza dough kit comes complete with a packet of yeast and type 00 flour. Type 00 flour is derived from high-quality wheat and is milled into a superfine powder-like texture. (Guys, it’s SO soft in your hands!) This flour is important for folks like me who have a history of ripping pizza dough in a fit of excitement while trying to flatten it out. This stuff gives you the elasticity you need for solid pizza-making. Seriously, it’s a godsend. Whether you’re making a thin and crispy Neopolitan-style pizza or a thick and chewy focaccia, elasticity is molto importante! With that said, this flour isn’t exclusive to pizza. You can make stromboli, calzones, flatbreads, and deliciously spongy focaccia with it.

I plan to make ALL those things.

But first, pizza pie.

My husband and I kinda sorta obsess over different peppers — spicy, briny, sweet, you name it. And although our Four Pepper Pizza recipe has been kickin’ around our home for a while, this time was different; this time it received special treatment with a glorious mélange of DeLallo’s peppers including Red Sweet Peppers, Calabrian Chili Peppers, Hot Banana Pepper Rings, and Tri-Colored Pepperazzi.

All of these sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors paired *perfectly* with our fresh and pillowy buffalo mozzarella!

The result was nom-tastic. See for yourself.

Not sure if DeLallo is available near you? Find out here, or shop their online store!

Making this recipe? Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram: @Killing__Thyme /#killingthyme. For more delish eats, follow me on INSTAGRAM + PINTEREST.

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Four Pepper Pizza

This Four Pepper Pizza is perfect for a date night in! Garlicky homemade crust is adorned with sweet, briny, and spicy peppers + fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 2

Author Killing Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 DeLallo Italian Pizza Dough Kit or use your fave pizza dough recipe

Based on one 10" pizza

• 1 TBSP olive oil optional; this is for garlic crust
• Garlic salt optional; this is for garlic crust
• 1/2-1 cup Pizza sauce
• 8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella sliced in 1/4-inch thick slices
• 3 oz DeLallo Red Sweet Peppers sliced into long thin slices
• 2 oz DeLallo Tri-Color Pepperazzi halved or quartered
• 1 oz DeLallo Calabrian Peppers full or sliced
• 1 oz DeLallo Hot Banana Pepper Rings
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish
• Cracked black pepper optional

Instructions

Dough Prep

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and yeast. Add 1 1/4 cups of lukewarm water. Stir with a fork until a shaggy dough begins to form.

2. Generously flour a clean surface, and transfer the dough onto it. Knead the dough by hand for about 3 minutes, or until the dough becomes soft and smooth.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise. This should only take 45 minutes. Once this is done, you can either get to pizza-making, or refrigerate the dough for use within 1-3 days.

4. Once the dough has risen, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

5. Divide the dough into 2 or 4 equal parts. Note that dividing the pizza in 2 will result in 2 thick-crusted 10" pizzas while dividing it into 4 will result in 4 thin-crusted 10" pizzas.

6. On a lightly oiled baking pan, start to form the pizza by hand. If using a pizza stone, make sure to sprinkle cornmeal over it so that the dough doesn't stick to the stone.

Pizza Assembly

1. For a garlicky crust, lightly brush the outer areas of the pizza (where the crust would be) with olive oil. Then, lightly sprinkle some garlic salt over the oiled parts of the crust. This step is optional.

2. Bit by bit, with a large spoon, ladle the sauce to the middle of the pizza and spread it out evenly over the dough. 

3. Add the slices of buffalo mozzarella followed by all the peppers. You can add some fresh basil leaves for garnish, and some cracked black pepper (optional).

4. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown, cheese is melted, and toppings are cooked.

Recipe Notes

Depending on the moisture level of the fresh buffalo mozzarella, sometimes as it melts, it creates watery puddles on your pizza. This can be avoided by cutting your cheese in half and ringing it out in a cheesecloth to get rid of contained water. You could also use a "pressing" method by slicing the mozza, placing paper towels between the slices, and then placing something heavy like a can of soup over the sliced cheese for about 10 minutes. This will press any of the water out — exactly like we do with tofu.

If you didn't do any of those steps or find watery puddles on your pizza anyway, don't fret. Carefully and lightly dip a paper towel into the puddled areas to absorb the water. This works like a charm and you'll still end up with fab pizza.