The other day while mixing up the yeast, flour, salt and water to make a pizza crust for pizza on the grill, I hesitated for a moment wondering if I should add a splash of wine. If I added wine should it be a red wine or white wine? At the last second I decided not to change the recipe.

I was quite surprised as I perused some recipes and one included a pizza crust with wine. In case, you are into making your own pizza crust, you will want to check out this recipe. This is not a typical pizza with tomatoes, pepperoni and mushroom toppings, so read through the recipe before making Pizza Bianca

Pizza Bianca

Ingredients

¼ c Rioja (light red or white)
½ oz yeast
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 Tablespoons for garnish
3½ cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, place wine, ¾ cup warm water, yeast and honey; stir until dissolved. Let sit until mixture is frothy (this means the yeast is alive), about 10 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; mix well to combine.

By hand:

1. To yeast mixture, add 1 cup of the flour; mix with wooden spoon, the consistency will be loose. While stirring, add remaining flour ¼ cup at a time. Bring dough together by hand. On a clean, floured counter top or wooden board, turn out dough. Knead until dough is smooth and firm, about 8–10 minutes.

With stand mixer:

1. Fit stand mixer with dough hook. In bowl of mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture and 1 cup flour. Continue adding flour ¼ cup at a time until 3 cups have been added. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until dough is smooth and firm, about 6 minutes.
2. Coat a large bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, add dough; cover bowl with plastic wrap. Place bowl in warmest part of the kitchen; allow dough to rise until double in size, about 45 minutes. Divide dough into 2 pieces.

For grill:

1. Start fire about ½ hour before cooking pizza. To determine if the fire is the right temperature, hold your hand AT LEAST 5 inches above the grill, if 3 or 4 seconds is the longest you can hold it there, the grill is hot enough.
2. Oil a baking sheet; with hands, spread and flatten dough until desired size and shape; thickness of dough should be uniform.
3. Place dough on grill; sprinkle with salt. Cook until puffy, about 1 minute; turn over; cook another 3 minutes, rotating dough constantly to keep from burning. Remove from grill; garnish with salt and sugar; serve immediately.

For oven:

1. Put pizza stone in over; heat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle counter top or cutting board with ¼ cup flour; roll out ½ of dough into a 14-inch circle; keep remaining dough covered and set aside. Transfer rolled out dough to pizza stone; brush with olive oil; cook 10-12 minutes. Garnish with salt and sugar; serve immediately

Serve immediately.

Yield: 2  14-inch pizzas

Rioja Pairing:
This is a very neutral dish, so it can be served with just about any wine you like, even the wine you used for the base of the dough!

Recipe provided by At Home with Rioja