Hearty Barbecue Pizza

This is pizza night with a smoky twist: tangy barbecue sauce stands in for marinara, and spicy Italian turkey sausage brings heat without the grease of pork. The cornmeal dusting on the pan is what gives the bottom of the crust that gritty crackle you get from a proper pizzeria stone.

The trick here is par-baking the crust before topping it. Frozen bread dough holds a lot of moisture, and a naked trip through the oven first sets the structure so the finished pie doesn’t go soggy under the sauce.

Brown the sausage hard and drain it well. Any residual fat will pool on the cheese and make the crust slump.

Mushrooms, green peppers, and sliced black olives pile on for a loaded-veggie finish, then mozzarella pulls it all together under the broiler-hot oven.

Pro Tips

• If the crust puffs up during the par-bake, flatten the bubbles with the back of a spoon so toppings sit flat.
• Prick the dough generously with a fork before the first bake; this prevents steam pockets.
• Warm the barbecue sauce with the sausage so the flavors meld before they hit the crust.
• Shred mozzarella from a block rather than buying pre-shredded; the anti-caking starch in bagged cheese keeps it from melting smoothly.

Variations

• Swap turkey sausage for shredded rotisserie chicken tossed in extra BBQ sauce for a pulled-chicken pizza.
• Add thin-sliced red onion and fresh cilantro after baking for a Memphis-style kick.
• Use smoked gouda or sharp cheddar in place of half the mozzarella for deeper smoky notes.