White Pizza w/ Homemade Crust

Wow, it's been a long time since I've added a recipe!  Having a baby will do that, I guess.  We welcomed our baby girl into our lives back in December and I have barely stepped up to the stove since. But I am sitting here surrounded by the aroma of a freshly made Italian herb pizza dough and felt inspired to share.  I slightly modified a dough recipe from All Recipes and a white pizza recipe from the Food Network.

First, the dough (using a bread machine)


Ingredients

• 1 cup flat beer (I used Miller Lite this time)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (or mix of oregano, basil, parsley)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 packet)

Directions

1. Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select Dough setting, and press Start. (Mine takes just about 1-1/2 hrs.)
3. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
   **I made this the day before, so at this point, I put the ball of dough in an oil-brushed bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge overnight.
    

Now, the white pizza

Ingredients

• Garlic-flavored olive oil
• 1 (1-pound) ball pizza dough (above), thawed and at room temperature
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves, plus more for garnish
• Thin-sliced tomato

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven.
2. Brush the pizza pan with oil. 
3. On a work surface, using your hands, press the pizza dough into a large flat disk and transfer it to the greased pan. 
4. Using your fingers, press the dough out until it has stretched to the perimeter of the pan. Create a dough "lip" around the outer edges of the pan. 
5. Brush the entire surface of the dough lightly with garlic oil and pierce the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, to prevent bubbling.
6. Prebake crust a few minutes, until a very light golden brown.
7. Evenly spread the mozzarella over the crust. 
8. Using 2 spoons, dollop teaspoon-sized mounds of ricotta evenly over the mozzarella. 
9. Place tomato slices on top.
10. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and evenly sprinkle the chopped oregano over the top.
11. Bake in the lower third of the oven until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly and browning on top, 25 to 30 minutes. 
12. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before garnishing with additional oregano and slicing into 8 pieces.