6–8 ounces Gouda or your favorite mild cheese (Provolone, Gruyere or Mozzarella would work well)
12 ounces of mixed variety mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, bella)
1 tsp dried rosemary
2–3 large red onions
olive oil for caramelizing onions
1 tablespoon of butter
Kosher salt and black pepper
Parsley for garnish
Instructions
Add the honey and warm water to the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk just enough for the honey to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast will foam over the top of the water.
Add the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture and using the mixing attachment (the one that looks like a whisk), mix the ingredients together just until combined. Add one cup of the whole white wheat flour, then mix again just until combined. Switch the mixer attachment to the dough hook and add the remaining flour (2 ¼ cups), making sure to use a rubber spatula to push any flour sticking to the sides down into the bowl, turn on the dough hook and allow it to work the dough for about 10 minutes.
Turn out the dough into an oiled bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to make sure the surface is coated in oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Once you set the dough aside to rise, drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a large pan (enough to cover the bottom if you swirl it around). Add a tablespoon of butter and let it melt slowly in the warm pan over medium low heat. Slice onions into long, thin strips and add them to the oil and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat the onions with oil. Now just leave them along to cook slowly over medium low heat – stirring only occasionally for 45 minutes to an hour. When they are dark brown and the liquid has all cooked out (and your house smells amazing!), just turn off the stove. (I usually just set my oven timer for an hour and go do something else, stirring the onions once or twice as I pass by the stove.)
When the dough is doubled, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces. Form both pieces into a ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled again. (I usually just leave everything on my counter and cover with a kitchen towel, again setting my oven timer for 45 minutes so I don’t forget.)
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Add the mushrooms and rosemary to your caramelized onions and turn the temperature of the stove to medium heat. It will take about 8 minutes for the mushrooms to become tender and release all of their moisture.
While mushrooms are cooking, roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place it in a large, well-oiled cast iron skillet. Make sure the dough is tucked into the corners of the pan and use your fingers to crimp the dough against the sides.
The second ball of dough can be refrigerated, frozen or turned into a second pizza on either a pizza pan or a second cast iron skillet.
Precook the pizza crust for 6 minutes. Remove pizza crust from the oven, drop the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Top the precooked crust with your favorite toppings and bake for around 16 minutes until the crust is
golden at the edges and cheese is melted on top. Top with freshly chopped parsley and Enjoy!