Whole Wheat Roasted Red Pepper + Fontina Pizza with Balsamic Glaze.
I know. I hate when people say that too.
But seriously? You look like you need it.
No offense or anything. It’s just that it’s the end of the first week of the new year. Like… stress city. You totally deserve pizza.
This pie is loaded with caramelized shallots (!), roasted red peppers (double !), tons of crispy bacon (!!!!!) and lots of cheeeeeeese. And my undying love, of course. Oh… and hunger.
I’m pretty sure my entire soul melted away with the fontina and parmesan as I took a bite. HO.LY.FLA.VOR.
I mean, I used to think that fontina was really good, and that bacon was incredible, and that roasted red peppers were super. But then… then I added a balsamic reduction on top and I’m pretty sure I died. Like I’m dead right now. I’m talking to you from the heavens. I hope. But maybe not. I have this little problem called gluttony… sooooo there’s that.
Whole Wheat Roasted Red Pepper + Fontina Pizza with Balsamic Glaze
makes one pizza
dough: (my go-to recipe)
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
In the bowl of your electric mixer with an attached dough hook, combine warm water, yeast, honey and oil and mix with a spoon. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until foamy, then add in flour and salt. Mix on low speed until just combined, then turn to medium speed to knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. If it seems to sticky, add a bit more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
Brush a separate bowl with olive oil, add dough, turning once, then set in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. Cover with a damp towel.
pizza:
2 slices thick-cut bacon
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
6 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese
2 ounces freshly grated romano cheese + more for topping if desired
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
Right before dough is almost finished rising, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy and fat is rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon, then add shallots and stir to coat. Cook for about 10 minutes over low heat, or until shallots begin to caramelize. Set aside. While shallots are cooking, make sure that red peppers are patted dry (if from a jar). If you’d like to make your own roasted red peppers, see here.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Once pizza dough is ready to go, roll/press into desired shape and brush the surface with olive oil and top with minced garlic. Sprinkle on 4 ounces of fontina cheese, then top with shallots, red peppers, and bacon. Sprinkle remaining fontina and romano evenly on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
While pizza is baking, heat vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow to come to a boil, then let simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes until reduced to about 1/3-1/2 cup. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes to thicken. When pizza is finished baking, drizzle glaze on top and serve.
The only thing that could be better here is if that glaze was chocolate syrup. I know you thought so too.
139 Comments on “Whole Wheat Roasted Red Pepper + Fontina Pizza with Balsamic Glaze.”
It looks like a pizza lover’s paradise!
I love roasted red peppers and I bet they’re glorious in here.
But I’m all about your last line: chocolate syrup rather than pizza :)
Mmmm balsamic! So good in unexpected places! Does your husband realize how lucky he is? No? You deserve another pair of shoes ;)
Mmm!! Friday night is pizza night… do you deliver?
Balsamic reduction makes almost anything better – I love how it works with sweet and savory flavors. This looks absolutely amazing!
Yup I thought it was chocolate syrup! I love balsamic vinegar so that is better than chocolate syrup to me :)
I don’t roll my eyes to this being the best pizza ever- I tip my hat to you! Sounds out of this world!
Jess, have you ever thought of opening a pizzeria?! Seriously, every. single. one. of the pizzas you make look so fancy and delicious! I would definitely pay for them – wayyyy better than take-out! :-)
This pizza looks amazing! I’ve never made my own pizza crust and your recipe looks easy enough! I may give this one a try! I love how you added the balsamic over the pizza!! Dam, that looks good!
I love pizza. I’ve never used fontina cheese before. Never put balsamic on top either. Is fontina similar to mozzarella? Yummy pizza!
I actually like it better than mozz. It’s soooo melty!
I recently ordered pizza from an organic pizza place and they topped it with balsamic too–seriously, best idea ever. It adds the perfect punch to it!
Yup! Totally mistook that for chocolate at first.
Fontina is my FAV!
This looks truly heavenly. Your base is paper thin, just how I like it, and I absolutely adore using balsamic vinegar on pizzas. I’m definitely going to consider making a balsamic reduction in future. Yum!
How did you know? I DO need it! ;-)
Oooh this is lovely! The roasted red peppers and caramelized onions AND balsamic glaze… you’re spoiling us this morning!! :)
a) we share a brain and I’m scared.
b) tuck some basil leaves into that thing and I’ll go to second base with it.
c) tuck ME into that thing and I’ll marry it.
What a combo of ingredients! I love the balsamic glaze on top. I think I’ll join you in heaven!
This looks so good. I love the combination of ingredients and the balsamic glaze on top. Love when people use balsamic glaze on pizza. Can I have 3 of these pies delivered to mi casa tonight? Haha, that’d be awesome but only wishful thinking ;)
I’m hoping this is a personal pie? :-)
you’re right…i DO need pizza. and not just any pizza, but the best one in the whole world (i.e. this one). can i come over and we can eat it and watch Crazy Stupid Love a billion times?
fontina is my FAVORITE cheese… and so under appreciated in my opinion. and i love the addition of balsamic… and the whole wheat crust to make it, you know, healthy!
You know what is so sad? My body is like.. allergic to roasted red peppers. Something happens when I roast them that makes my stomach angry and go on a rampage. Which sucks because I adore them. So yeah, I still eat them sometimes, but it’s sad, right? I just shed a balsamic reduction tear.
One time I burnt my upper lip, which consequently got stuck with loads of piping hot balsamic glaze. I’ve been scared to make it since and always buy it in the bottle hah.
I’m always on the lookout for new pizza ideas, and this one is definitely going onto my “to make” list! I don’t use fontina enough – thanks for the reminder of how delicious it is =).
I love trying new pizzas and this one looks like a winner!
I have been craving all kinds of pizza lately apart from the traditional topped ones. Definitely going to be adding this to the list!
I want to stuff my face in this pizza, but I don’t think my boss will like that! I wish I could find Fontina cheese in my area.
Why, why, whyyyy must you make all of these delicous carby meals now I’m doing Paleo for a month? This looks scrumptious and I want to eat it for breakfast. Can I put in a request for a meat dish soon, please?
The balsamic glaze is totally what does it. I had that on an appetizer pizza for the first time while in Vermont this summer and OH MY GOODNESS. So SO good.
That looks wonderful. Pizza cravings at breakfast are totally normal, right?
don’t worry gluttony is a quality not a problem ;)
Why do you have to make such delicious looking food that makes me want to jump through my computer screen while I’m at work! Mouth.Is.Watering.
This pizza does look amazing and I did actually think that was chocolate syrup drizzled on it :)
Mentally I need to eat that pizza but physically I need to eat a salad ;)
Do you use a Kitchenaid mixer to make dough? I was considering buying one.
Yep! Always.
Which size would you recommend? I recently came upon a holiday present in the form of a Kohl’s gift card. I bet it comes in handy a lot since you do a lot of baking from scratch! I’ve been debating if I will use it and looking for something to ‘sell’ me on it.
I have 2, but I really think that the 5qt artisan works great, especially for the price! I think it depends on how much use you get out of it, but my artisan has held up for nearly 4 years after using almost everyday.
I was leaning towards that 5 qt artisan from a price perspective. Although the 6 qt would be great, it is a quite a jump in size and price from what I understand, and you’d really have to know you were going to use it a lot to merit it I’d imagine.
If I may weigh in- I have the 6qt, bought because I wanted the extra power since I do a lot of dough. While I love it, it stands a little taller than the artisan, and doesn’t fit under my kitchen cabinets!!! Measure the space you want to use/display (you don’t hide beautiful!!) before you decide!
Great point! I also feel like I should consider where the mixer will go since like you said since storage is at a premium.
i honestly don’t know how i’d live without mine. for regular everyday use get the 5 qt. and get one of these http://www.beaterblade.com/categories/beaterblade_1/beaterblade_.htm. i’m considering putting the 6 qt pro on my wedding registry, but my regular one is absolutely fine so that feels a bit greedy.
Thanks for that tip! I have a feeling that owning a mixer I might do more baking from scratch. Are there any cooking applications? What do you find yourself using it for a lot?
smashed potatoes, any dough (bread, pizza, cookie, pasta…etc) i make alot of cupcakes, kinda my thing, so i use it all the time for that, and frosting. making buttercream by hand is a great workout, but i’m not interested. i’ve broken spatulas trying to mix it by hand. i have the meat grinder attachment so i’ll buy chicken breast in bulk from costco and use that to make ground chicken instead of buy ground chicken or turkey from the store. the meat grinder can also be turned into a pasta maker with the right plates, so i’ve done that too.
basically it’s my favorite thing ever. and i got a slick deal on it. i’m thinking of getting it refurbished or looking how up to do it myself. it sounds slightly different than before, so i might let my engineer fiancee take it apart and grease it up for me.
Stephanie and Jessica- have you had any problem doing dough in yours? I keep hearing if you are going to do a lot of doughs the 6 qt pro is better, more wattage, larger bowl= more surface for rising, and that some stiffer doughs or larger quantities might be better suited to the pro. I’m thinking that I can probably get away with the 5 qt artisan but trying to do my homework!
Nope never had problem doing doughs! I do all my doughs in it and absolutely love it.
i’ve had problems with the 4.5 qt classic, but that one is even less powered than the 5 qt. and the recipe i was using was really kneeding intense. ever since i got the 5 qt i haven’t had any problems. i’m still thinking about the pro for the power upgrade and the gears are all metal too.
I could drink balsamic glaze. Love it on pizza!
This looks delicious, I love roasted red peppers! My boyfriend and I love making homemade pizza and I am always trying to switch up the toppings! We will have to try this the next time he is in town!
You had me at “Balsamic Glaze.” I’d drink that stuff. Or dip anything into it!!
me: lala let me check how sweet eats this morning.
reading….
“yeah totally making this rightnow. ”
checks fridge. red pepper, check.
yeast, check.
cheese, check.
shallot, check.
no bacon
checks freezer. no bacon.
why don’t i have any bacon??!!??
must go to store right now.
HAha, yes! I was going to ask, are you sure that’s not chocolate??
holy flavor town!
Gotta run to the grocery store tonight to get the ingredients for this–it looks wonderful!!
Um this looks amazing. I am craving pizza at 10 am in the morning now :)
Holy Crow!! I SO want this for breakfast RIGHT NOW!!
Man, Jessica, do you need a roommate? I know you have a husband and all, but I’ll be quiet as a mouse. I clean, can run errands, do laundy, but will defitinitely let you do ALL the cooking.
Alright, maybe not. My family would probably miss me and who knows what they’d be eating – haha. More than likely it would be cereal every night.
In that case, you can definitely move in!!
that looks delicious! i don’t eat tomatoes (mild allergy) and so I love finding recipes that don’t include pizza sauce. i’m definitely going to add this to my rotation. thanks, Jessica!
What a beauty! I’m in loooooove.
Balsamic glaze…that’s all I need really. Pour that stuff on anything and I’ll eat it. Bonus if the stuff it’s poured on is cheesy, savory, and also a little healthy. Thanks for the great idea!
Oh. Wow. You KNOW how much i love unique pizzas!!!! TOTALLY trying this ;)
Wow, I can’t wait to go home and make this!
Awesome idea!
LOVE this. I’m obsessed with balsamic glaze right now.
I’m about to boil some balsamic and put it on everything. My cat better hide.