In my endless quest to overload on all things pumpkin this Fall, I was browsing a fall-themed magazine and saw a tasty looking recipe for pumpkin dinner rolls. That sparked a light bulb in my head, and I thought, why can’t I do that with pizza dough? Bread dough and pizza dough have a lot in common,after all: yeast, sugar, oil, water, kneading…and so this amazing pumpkin pizza dough was born! It’s a great way to use up leftover fresh or canned pumpkin puree, and it’s a great way to add a healthy vitamin boost into your pizza dough. The dough has a lovely pale orange hue, and you can’t taste the pumpkin, so it’s definitely interchangeable with your regular dough! I might just have to keep frozen pumpkin puree on hand to make this year round, it’s thebomb.com!
Pumpkin Pizza Dough
Ingredients
3 1/2 to 4 cups organic all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 teaspoons agave, honey or sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
1 cup water, 110 degrees F
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons
Directions
Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. I use my stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Meanwhile, divide your warm water in half. Add the yeast and sugar to 1/2 cup of water. Allow the yeast to sit & activate for 2-3 minutes.
Add the olive oil and pumpkin puree to the activated yeast mixture.
Turn on your mixer to the lowest speed, and pour in the pumpkin/yeast mixture.
If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add the additional 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time. This is all dependent on the water content of your pumpkin puree. Mine was pretty dry, so I ended up using the whole additional 1/2 cup.
Once the dough comes together into a solid ball, it’s done. It should be slightly sticky, but it will hold together when you pull it out of the bowl.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Use immediately or freeze for later use. You can also make this a day or 2 ahead and let it proof in the refrigerator. The cold aging process will make your dough even more fluffy, crispy & delish!
