This Colorado Mountain Style pizza, my friends, is going to make it into your rotation. The Colorado style pizza is as bold and massive as the Rocky Mountains; big flavorful crust (thanks to the use of whole wheat flour and honey), demands a boulder of toppings, and is both forgiving and rewarding to make. If you don’t have a 14” pizza pan, get one! Until then, don’t be afraid to improvise and use a large cake pan, paella pan, whatever you have that is big enough. Below is a picture from the famous Beau Jo’s of what this pizza looks like:
Colorado Mountain Pizza
Equipment
- 16" lipped aluminum pan (or whatever you have)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1.5 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 0.25 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese
- 0.5 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 cups of toppings (cooked onions/peppers/sausage/mushrooms)
- Hot honey for drizzling
Instructions
- In your stand mixer or large bowl, combine water, honey, and yeast. Gently combine and let stand for 3 minutes.
- Following the rest period, begin to mix (use the hook attachment on your stand mixer) on low. Gently pour in flours, salt, and oil. Let mix for 5 minutes on medium low speed (scraping the bowl as needed to keep the dough in the bowl). Remove from mixer and form into a ball, then place back into workbowl. Let sit for 2 hours.
- As dough rises, Combine olive oil, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, pinch of salt, pepper flake, and Italian seasoning into small saucepot. Bring to just a simmer, then set aside for future use.
- Preheat your oven to 450 deg F. Roll out to a flat 16″, move to your pizza pan (looking for 1″ overhang). Dock dough with a fork and make small slits into the overhung dough every few inches. Roll the overhung dough back into the pie, forming the crimped crust lip. Perfection isn’t a must here, just get some volume with your roll.
- Sauce your pizza, cheese your pizza, and top your pizza. Bake your pizza for 18-20 minutes or until golden and awesome. Remove from oven and drizzle with a bit of that hot honey to finish. Enjoy!
Notes
What is Colorado style pizza?
Colorado style pizza is as bold and massive as the Rocky Mountains; big flavorful crust (thanks to the use of whole wheat flour and honey), demands a boulder of toppings, and is both forgiving and rewarding to make.
What ingredients are in a Colorado style pizza dough?
Typical ingredients and ratios are: 1.5 cups whole wheat flour, 1.5 cups bread flour, 1 1/4 cups water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 packet instant yeast, 1 teaspoon table salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil
