The photos below represent my submission to the September 2009 Dessert Pizza challenge. The pizza is a mango-peach pizza.
For the dough, I decided to use a Papa Gino's clone dough. I selected that dough because one of its characteristics is that the crust, when baked on a pizza screen at around 450-475 degrees F, will be on the light side in terms of color. Also, it can have a tendency to produce a gumline, which I considered to be equivalent to the pastiness of a fruit pie. In those respects, I wanted the pizza to think that it was really a pie rather than a pizza. The dough I used was a two-day cold fermented dough, enough for a 12" pizza.
The assembly of the pizza was as follows, using a 12" pizza screen to assemble the pizza. I started by brushing pure maple syrup over the skin (12") and sprinkled cinnamon over the skin. I then added slices of mango and peach. The mangoes and peaches I used (two of each, average size) were fresh and were simply peeled, sliced and sauted in a skillet, along with some sugar, pure maple syrup, pure vanilla, fresh lemon juice, and some Ronrico Golden Puerto Rican rum, and cooked until slightly translucent yet still firm. I was careful not to mangle (mango?) the fruit slices as I sauteed them because I wanted to arrange them in accordance with some pattern. I am not particularly artistic, so I used a simple concentric pattern, trying to alternate the peach and mango slices as best I could (they tend to look a lot alike). Once the mango and peach slices were positioned on the pizza, I brushed them with more pure maple syrup and the fond (pan juices) from my saute pan.
After dressing the pizza, it was baked, on the screen, on the lowest oven position. I had preheated the oven for about a half hour at around 450-475 degrees F. The pizza was baked for about 6 minutes and then raised to the uppermost oven rack position to get a bit more top crust color--mainly to get it a bit on the golden brown side much like a pie.
I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted the bottom of the crust to be. So, I sampled a slice. Much like a pie, the crust was soft and slightly chewy, but not crispy. I then placed the pizza back into the oven, on the lowest oven rack position, without the screen, for another minute or so. That made the bottom crust crispy. I concluded that I could live with either version but I actually preferred the second version with the crispier bottom crust. After making and eating as many pizzas as I have, I guess it is hard to break old habits.
I thought the pizza was delicious, with a nice harmony of flavors and aromas. I ate my slices with a Hawaiian Kona coffee (100% Kona), but I think the pie would go well with a scoop of mango or peach sorbet or ice cream, or possibly a scoop of cinnamon ice cream or even some whipped cream. And another round of Kona, of course.
Peter
