The classic combination of salty prosciutto and ripe cantaloupe on a layer of crisp crust covered in a cream cheese based sauce and topped with peppery arugula
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Rising Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 50 minutesminutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
2Cflour
1tspinstant yeast
¾Cwater
½tspsugar
1tspsalt
½tspherbs de Provence*
1tspolive oil
Sauce
4ozcream cheeseroom temperature
½cshaved parmesan cheese
1Tbparsley
2Tbheavy cream
Toppings
¼-1/2cantaloupedepending on size
1ozprosciuttothinly sliced
8ozor 1C grated mozzarella cheese**
2Tbbutter
¼tspgarlic powder
pinchItalian seasoning
red pepper flakes to taste
8basil leaves
1Carugula
1Tbred wine vinegar
1Tbolive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To make crust:
Fit mixer with a hook attachment. Combine ¾ C warm water with yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir to thoroughly combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add 1 C of flour before turning it on so you don't end up covered in flour. Turn on the mixer. Once somewhat mixed, add 1 tsp salt and herbs de Provence. You don't want to add the salt directly to your yeast mixture as salt can kill the yeast.
Add 2nd cup of flour. If the weather is particularly dry, then you may want to use more like 1 and ¾ C total but generally, 2 cups is about right, You can always add a little more water if the mix is too dry, but wait at least a couple of minutes into mixing before making that decision. It will take some time for the dough to come together. Mix well on low until totally combined. Increase mixer speed to medium-low and allow the machine to work the dough for about five minutes to increase the gluten content or the chew of the final product.
Turn off mixer and remove the dough ball from hook. Shape into a round ball with the least amount of handling possible. Add 1t olive oil to your bowl and smear all over. Add dough back to the bowl. Cover with dish towel and put in a warm place for 1-2 hour or until the dough has approximately doubled in size.
Put a sprinkle of cornmeal on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Flour your counter or other surface for rolling out well with a few tablespoons of flour. Turn dough out onto the surface. Sprinkle rolling pin and top of dough with flour to avoid sticking. Roll out to ¼-inch thickness. The size of the rolled out dough should approximately fill a standard baking sheet.
To make pizza:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Dock or poke small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbles in the dough. Par-cook pizza crust for 5 minutes.
Combine cream cheese, heavy cream, shaved parmesan, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside. Cut cantaloupe in half and seed. Slice thinly into half-moons using a mandolin if you have one. Shred 1 C mozzarella cheese from the block using the large grate side of the box grater.
Remove pizza crust from the oven and smear with cream cheese mixture in an even layer. Next evenly cover the pizza with cantaloupe slices. Sprinkle pizza with ¾ C mozzarella, reserving remainder for on top of prosciutto. Separate layers of prosciutto and place across the pizza in small bunches. You don't want to lay the prosciutto totally flat. Top with remaining ¼ C mozzarella.
Bake for another 18 minutes or until golden brown. Melt butter in a small microwave-safe dish. Add ¼ tsp garlic powder, a pinch of Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt. Mix to combine. Dress edges of pizza (where there are little to no toppings) with garlic butter mixture. Also, top entire pizza with red pepper flakes to taste. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Cut into 8 slices by splitting first down the long side of the pizza then cutting each half into 4 even pieces.
Tear basil into pieces and mix with arugula in a small bowl. Dress arugula with 1T red wine vinegar and 1 Tb olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Top pizza with arugula. Slice and serve!
Notes
*Herbs de Provence is a regular in our pantry, but if you don't have it handy Italian seasoning would be a great substitute. You can even omit the addition of herbs to the crust without totally changing the crust, but it does add a nice extra bit of flavor.**I always prefer to grate my cheese from the block. The kind you buy already shredded is coated in starch to prevent it from sticking together during transit which makes the cheese not quite as melty and gooey as cheese straight from the block. It's an extra step that is so worth it, but feel free to use the pre-shredded kind if you prefer.