Roasted Pear and Turkey Pizza with Gorgonzola on Brioche Crust

I needed to use up some pears in my fridge so I was googling around and found some yummy combos to put together!


Makes 2 Pizzas







Brioche Crust:
1 cup warm water
3 TB warm milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 ½ TB sugar
1 large egg
3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ TB unsalted butter, softened

Turkey:

20 oz ground turkey

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

pinch of cinnamon

salt to taste

Caramelized Onions:

1 large sweet onion(mine peeled was about 14 oz)

1 TB unsalted butter

1 TB olive oil

1 TB sugar

2 TB balsamic vinegar

Other Toppings:

2 Large Red or Green D'Anjou Pears, cored and sliced thin, divided

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola, divided

CRUST:

Combine warm water, milk sugar and yeast. Allow to sit until foamy.

Beat the egg in a separate bowl, set aside

Combine flour, baking powder and salt and cut in soft butter(I find mixing it in with clean hands is easiest!) until it looks like coarse crumbs.

Stir in yeast water and egg and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 mins by hand, 5-6 in a kitchenaid)

Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise in a warm location until doubled (1-2 hours)

When it is doubled, divide into 2 pieces and stretch over  lightly greased pizza pans. Use a larger pan for a thinner crust or you can leave it smaller for thicker crust. Allow to rise 30 mins more. Then prick all over with a fork and stretch a little more if you like.

PEARS:

While you are waiting for the crust dough to rise you can get your pears roasted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

Place slices on a lightly greased baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes until soft and just starting to brown, set aside to cool.

When the crusts are ready bake each one for 7-8 minutes(depending on thickness) until it is light golden. Remove from oven.

ONIONS:

You can get the onions and turkey going while your dough is rising the first time.

Heat butter in a pan over high heat, add olive oil as soon as the butter is melted

When it is very hot add sliced onions and sprinkle with sugar. 

Stir constantly until the onions are well browned, reduce heat to low and cover. 

Cook 30 minutes stirring occasionally until they are very tender and browned. In the last 10 minutes or so add the balsamic vinegar.

TURKEY:

Combine meat and seasonings and mix well.

Over medium high heat add turkey and crumble. Cook until no pink remains. Drain if necessary.

ASSEMBLY:

Brush each crust with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

Divide turkey, onions and pears equally , layer turkey and onions on the crust

Sprinkle with cheeses. Then top with the pears.

You can make it to this point and refrigerate it , make sure to take it out 45 mins prior to baking!

Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes until the toppings are hot and bubbly.

Allow to set for 10 minutes before slicing

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