Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza

By msippigrl

All the toppings of the famous Kentucky Derby Day open-faced sandwich but on a homemade pizza crust (which is soo easy to make)!

Ingredients

• Hot Brown Pizza:
• Pizza crust (homemade recipe follows)
• Mornay sauce (recipe follows)
• Sliced roasted turkey (home cooked, or cold cut (blot out excess water with paper towels)
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
• 1 firm, ripe Roma tomato, chopped (blot excess juice)
• Shredded Pizza cheese blend (mozzarella and cheddar)
• Pinch garlic salt
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• Pizza Dough:
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 envelope instant "Rapid Rise" dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water, 110° F. (use a thermometer)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
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• Mornay Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Half-and-Half
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Romano cheese (green can)
• Pinch garlic salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Light shake of ground cayenne pepper, optional
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Make the Crust:

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and "Rapid Rise" yeast. Add the warm water and olive oil and stir until a soft dough pulls away from sides of bowl. If dough seems too loose, sprinkle in a little more flour. If too dry, add another teaspoon of water.

Oil a separate large mixing bowl, then dump the dough into it. Immediately, cover bowl tightly with Saran wrap and let rise until doubled in size. This may take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (I put it in the barely warm oven that I had preheated to about 100° then turned it off before I started making the dough.)

When dough is ready, dump it out onto a floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour over the top to keep from sticking to your hands. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Wrap one in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for another use.

Line a pizza pan (mine was the type that had holes in the bottom) with parchment paper. Transfer remaining piece of dough to the lined pizza pan and press out evenly with your hands to fit the pan.

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Make the Mornay Sauce:

In a small, 1-quart non-stick saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter; add the flour and whisk and cook for 1-2 minutes. (Do not brown the roux.) Slowly, whisk in the half-and-half and cook until well thickened. Remove from heat and stir in both Parmesan cheeses, garlic salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt and black pepper to tast. Cover pot and set aside until ready to assemble the pizza.

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To assemble the pizza:

Preheat oven to 460° F.

Spread a thin layer of the Mornay sauce over the pizza crust in the pan to within 1/2" of edges. (If sauce is too thick, whisk in 1 tsp. of milk at a time to thin.)

2. Sprinkle on a thin layer of the pizza cheese.
3. Top with chopped turkey.
4. Next, add the bacon pieces, and chopped tomatoes.
5. Top with a layer of pizza cheese.
6. Drizzle top with any remaining Mornay sauce.
7. Lastly, sprinkle a pinch of garlic salt over top.

Bake pizza in center of oven for 16-18 minutes, or until crust is done and cheese is lightly browned. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting into slices with a pizza cutter and serving.