Joy the Baker

Spicy Sausage and Sweet Pepper Pizza

by 104 Comments

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‘All good pizzas come in pairs.’  Isn’t that an old English proverb?

I’m sure it is… because it’s totally true.

This is the sister pizza to the Hatch Chili and Fresh Corn No-Knead Pizza I made a few weeks back.  The recipe makes two glorious pizzas… a fact that is nothing short of glorious, especially considering the upcoming Friday.  I’m a firm believer that everyone should eat pizza, on a couch, off of a paper towel on Friday.  Is that a basic human right?  No.  Oh how I wish it were.

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Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough recipe is full of grace.  It’s forgiving and super simple.  There’s no reason to be intimidated as long as you’ve got a bowl and wooden spoon.  For step-by-step photos, let the Hatch Chili and Fresh Corn No-Knead Pizza be your guide.

Then… bust out the peppers.  I like the red and yellow because they’re sweeter than the green peppers.

The shine on the baking sheet is a good dose of olive oil.

The oil keeps the dough from sticking to the pan, and creates a wonderfully crispy and thin crust.

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Toppings include pizza sauce (totally store-bought), crushed red pepper flakes, cooked spicy Italian sausage, sliced sweet peppers, and shredded mozzarella.

Excuse my mouth drool.

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Welcome to the fun part.

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The pile-on.

Pizza sauce is coaxed nearly to the edge of the pizza.  Cheese is sprinkled.  Sausage bits are arranged.  Peppers are placed.

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This pizza just needs a solid 20 minutes in an unbearably hot oven, and all your Friday night Pizza and Movie Night dreams are achieved.

The crust is thin and crisp, allowing you to inhale three slices with ease.  Sausage and peppers create a spicy and sweet dichotomy that could probably win a Nobel Peace Prize.

It’s simple and classic.  It’s so good your oven will probably thank you for the experience.

Spicy Sausage and Pepper Pizza

makes 2 pizzas

inspired by Jim Lahey and Shutterbean

Print this Recipe!

2 3/4 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (or 3 3/4 cups bread flour)

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

extra virgin olive oil for the pan

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.  Add warm water all at once.  Using a wooden spoon, work the mixture together until fully incorporated.  If necessary ditch the spoon and work the mixture together with your hands.  The dough will be slightly shaggy.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Let rise at room temperature for 2 hours.

After resting, dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide in half.  If you’re only going to make one pizza, wrap the second piece of dough in plastic wrap, place in a ziplock bag, and place in the freezer.  Defrost dough in the fridge overnight and allow to come to room temperature before pressing out into the pizza crust.

Working with one dough at a time, liberally oil a 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.  Place the rounded dough on the pan and stretch and press the dough out into a flat rectangle.  If the dough springs bag as you’re pressing it out, simply wait five minutes to allow the dough to rest and then try again.  The dough should be very this.  If the dough tears, don’t worry, just press it back together.

Top with:

3/4 cup pizza sauce

1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 uncooked spicy sausages, de-cased and sautéed until cooked through

thinly sliced red and yellow peppers

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Top pizza with sauce (all the way to the edges) cheese, and toppings.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until the edges are charred and bubbling.  Remove from the oven.  Allow to cool for a few moments then slice and top with crushed red pepper flakes and fresh arugula.  Serve immediately.  

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. lee

    Okay, so I finally got around to trying this recipe – well, the toppings part, at least. No homemade pizza dough for me, just yet. Anyways – thank you for inspiring such a delicious pizza. We ate this while watching the Oscars, and it was perfect. Once again, you rock! =)

    Reply

  3. Sanu

    I made this last week and it was delicious! But I lowered the oven temp to 450 and only cooked for 15 minutes; next time I’ll probably only leave it in there for 10 minutes. Thanks Joy!

    Reply

  5. Clara

    I made a vegan-topped version for my friend this weekend and it turned out great but 500 was too high for me as well. I might try 425 next time. Yum though, I will definitely make this again!

    Reply

  7. Brooke Craven

    So delicious. Although, the “good dose of olive oil” caused a smoke-a-licious event in my oven (the pizza, however, did not burn…) and called the fire department. For real. Now that’s exciting pizza!

    Reply

  8. Liz

    Dear Joy,

    I must let you know that we made a Joy the Feast on the weekend for dinner with the in-laws. Holy smokes, it was awesome. We had this pizza, as well as a margherita on the other half of the dough, (accompanied by a kale, blueberry & avocado salad) and finished it off with your deliciously wild walnut/choc/banana cookie cake. All concerned were highly impressed.

    Sublime work,
    Liz

    Reply

  9. Kali

    Joy, My guy and I made this for dinner last night. It was such an easy recipe, and turned out amazingly delicious. We listened to your newest podcast while we prepped and cooked, it just seemed appropriate. Thank you for yet another Super-fantastic recipe!

    Reply

  10. Kathy

    This pizza looks great! Have you ever made a pizza using gluten free dough? I love pizza and sadly, am unable to eat it because of celiac. I haven’t tasted one gluten free pizza that I would eat a second time. :(

    Reply

    • Martine

      I’ve got the same question Kathy. I’m going to give it a try this weekend with Bob’s Red Mill baking mix (unless anyone recommends another flour?) and will let you know how it goes!

      Reply

  17. Lora @cakeduchess

    I think I could have pizza night be every night. It’s almost always Fridays and sometimes I sneak in another one. Love this no-knead version and your toppings make me hungry:)

    Reply

  19. Shut Up & Cook

    When we were in middle school my friend Madeline who was Canadian, and therefore SO much cooler than the rest of us bumpkins decided she didn’t like pizza. She was over it. Just like that. I tried to go along with her as middle school girls do…but I just couldn’t.

    There really is nothing better than a good pizza…okay…yes there is. A good pizza with a good bottle of wine.

    Happy Friday!

    Reply

  20. LauraJo

    Just a tip – I’m on the quest to perfect my pizzas and a friend who owns an Italian restaurant gave me some pizza screens (from restaurant supply). Much crisper crusts if that’s the kind of crust you like!

    Reply

  21. katy

    I’ve been making pizza this week, too. The no-knead pizza dough is the best thing ever! Plus, given how cool it’s been here lately, I’ll take any reason to turn the oven up to 500 F. I see a lot of pizza in my future.

    Reply

  27. kiki

    This looks so yummy! It has some of my most favorite toppings and looks like the kind of pizza I make at home (except I use a pesto base which is yummy, too!). Red + yellow bell peppers have recently become some of my fave veggies–especially on top of pizza! And I especially love the top photo with all its stringy-cheese-goodness. One word: Yum.

    Reply

  29. Karen McNutt

    I’m a huge fan of pizza and I have to agree with several of the replies that nothing smells better than pizza in the oven. It may not do my body good but I think of it as comfort food that feeds my soul. Thank you Joy! you are truly a delight.

    Reply

  35. Carrie

    Yum! This looks amazing!

    I have a question, though. Would it be as delicious if I use Trader Joe’s pizza dough? Pizza dough is like pie crust to me (and I know where you stand on that, so I’m sorry)… I just do not feel it is worth the time and effort. Judge not. :)

    So, what do you think? Does the homemade pizza dough really make a huge difference?

    Reply

    • tamaso

      tj’s dough works great, in my experience. i have really found that baking technique is really the difference-maker when it comes to home pizza cooking, not the specific dough.

      i’m sure certain recipes (or more importantly, yeast strands) will yield more complex and nuanced flavor in the crust (think good baguette or sourdough bread vs supermarket loaf). however, the defining characteristic of a good pizza dough is texture in my opinion: rise, crisp but still chewy, and bubbly.

      i have found that the single-largest factor in crust texture is cooking temperature– this is what separates pizzeria pizza from home pizza (not ‘the water’). if you have to cook the pie for 20mins, as this recipe suggests, i would say that your oven is far too cold to achieve an ideal crust. using a pizza stone is a must, if you can afford one. pre-heat the stone at your ovens maximum temperature for at least 30mins, ideally closer to 45mins-1hr. at this point, prep the pizza and slide it on to the stone (corn meal works well, or even a parchment trimmed to size). some recipes, including jim lahey’s own home pizza recipe, call for turning the broiler on at this point. if you want to go this route it will cook slightly faster and give you a nice charred blister. the pizza should not need to cook for more than 3-6mins in this fashion, and will be guaranteed delicious.

      love you joy, just thought toppings this delicious deserve a home-baked crust to match ;). hope someone finds this info useful!

      Reply

  43. lee

    My fiance and I have talked about wanting to eat more homemade pizzas (v. frozen or delivery)…but I never feel like I’m able to think up recipes for toppings. Then I see something like this and think, “doh!” Of course. Sausage and peppers – that makes so much sense. (Especially since it’s a combination I make to serve over pasta.)

    So thanks for the inspiration, and the reminder that I don’t have to reinvent the flavor wheel to find some good pizzas. =)

    Reply

  46. Amy W

    I love the look of the pizza as a whole but even more I love that the edges are super dark/almost maybe burnt. I love pizza crust like that. :)

    Reply

  48. Gayle E

    Good morning :). Am I missing the temperature for the oven? It is awfully early….I will look again :). Happy Thursday. I love pizza!

    Reply

  49. Seanna Lea

    My husband would so love this, especially if I could make it deep dish. Have you tried making a pizza into deep dish? I’ve done a couple rounds and have had middling success.

    Reply

  50. Sues

    I had a similar pizza for dinner at a Boston restaurant the other night (except the peppers were spicy, too). SO good! And a beautiful pizza, too :)

    Reply

  51. Rachael B

    my grandparents have been having pizza on fridays for as long as i can remember. it’s definitely a tradition in my family!

    Reply

  53. Violet

    So weird. Seeing the no-knead pizza dough kicked me into a homemade pizza kick – and my first go was sausage and green pepper! I added a bit of diced yellow onion and used my dad’s homemade sauce recipe (crazy simple but way better than storebought). It was so good I made it again a few days later…and I want more RIGHT NOW.

    I also used the no-knead dough to make a breakfast pizza with caramelized onions, sausage, and an egg. It was the first time I made caramelized onions and I blogged about it (so not a food blogger – I only took a pic of the finished product!).

    Reply

  54. Malori

    This looks like the pizza version of one my childhood favorites. My dad used to cut up a couple red and yellow peppers, an onion, and a package of sweet italian sausage in the morning then let it simmer over a low heat all day until everything ended up caramelized and amazing. We’d pile it high on some great bread and it was always one of the best things!

    Reply

  56. Jessica @ The Desert Abode

    Thank you for posting this! My favorite pizza in the world is pepperoni, which I’m not supposed to have while pregnant. I keep trying other combinations and nothing seems to satisfy my pizza craving. This might do it!

    If it hits the spot, I’ll have to rename it “Pregnant Lady Pizza.” :)

    Reply

  64. Pamela

    I feel the exact same way about Friday nights, now if only I could get the boyfriend to agree with me..

    –pizza looks delicious by the way, definitely adding it to my ever-growing list of recipes to try

    Reply

  67. Arthur!

    Lovely! I am glad to see your well-used pan! My friends fuss that I don’t get replace mine with shiny new pans. No need to add to the landfill and take away from my bank account! :-)

    Reply

  71. Rebecca

    This looks so yummy! I subscribe by email and love getting your recipes straight to my inbox – although it makes my mighty hungry – even though it is only 10am! Have a great day! and thanks for all the great recipes!
    Rebecca
    Heronscrafts.blogspot.com

    Reply

  73. Marine

    I made this the other night – using gluten free whole wheat bread flour (which is basically regular GF flour but already has salt and xanthan gum in it). It didn’t rise quite as much as it should have – but that only means it took a bit more work to spread it out on the pan. No worries though, it came out delicious and I could have eaten the whole thing but I was good and shared it!

    Reply

  75. Margherita

    Letting the pizza dough rest is a tip I’ve learned recently and it does make a major difference. I use cold water instead of warm water. It’s a tip that a friend from Naples passed along, he said that you don’t want to activate the yeast with the water temperature but just with the heat coming from working the dough with your hands. I was not sure about it but it worked perfectly.
    Anyway, I love your choice of toppings here, looks divine!

    Reply

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