If you have not been to a Mellow Mushroom pizza location, stop reading and go find one near you. Their crust has a unique richness that matches perfectly with mushrooms, but also with most other ingredients.
The key to their crust is using molasses in the dough. Below is one of the copy cat recipes. Give it a try for your next pizza.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups hot water (I try to get my water between 105-110)
2 1/2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 packets of instant yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp if you buy your yeast in bulk)
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
cornmeal (used for dusting your parchment paper)
melted garlic butter
Parmesan cheese crumbs
Directions:
In a measuring cup, combine water, olive oil and molasses. TIP: Measure out the olive oil first and then the molasses. That way the molasses won’t stick to the spoon.
Mix flour, salt and instant yeast together. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and slowly pour the water mixture into it.
Using the paddle attachment, run mixer on low to bring all the ingredients together (should take about 30 secs to 1 minute).
Switch to the hook attachment and run mixer on medium for about 10 minutes. Your dough ball should be slightly tacky but not sticky.
Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight to rise. Or you can let it rise on the counter top for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 500°F with your pizza stone inside on the very bottom shelf. Once your oven reaches 500°F, you need to preheat the stone for another 30 minutes before placing your pizza in the oven.
For Thin Crust Pizza: Take the dough and cut the dough into 2 equal parts. Take each piece and place it cut side down on your counter. Use the palm of your hand to smash it down a little. Then start to fold the sides in on itself to create a ball. Cover with a tea towel and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Repeat with other dough half.
For Pan Pizza: Take dough and press it down to push the air out. Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 min.
After your dough has rested for 30 minutes, you can start to form it into your pizza crust. I like to form my dough on parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal.
Top your pizza with your desired ingredients and place it in the oven for about 7-9 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown.
Remove pizza from oven and brush crust with melted garlic butter immediately. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cut and serve.