French Onion Soup Pizza

French onion soup is one of my long term favorite foods. Even when I was picky, this was one of my go to restaurant orders. It's a little trickier to make in my kitchen due to an old and scary broiler so when I saw this recipe for french onion soup pizza, I was game. This was great as dinner but would be just as good/better cut into smaller slices as an appetizer.

I had originally intended to buy pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's or even Safeway. Now that we have a hand mixer with a dough attachment though, I decided to tackle my first yeast experiment. I associate yeast with baking, and baking scares me. 

It's alive!

It rose! All that stress for nothing. I think with a little more practice I could actually make a pretty tasty dough. I had all the ingredients for it in my kitchen already (minus the yeast, but that's cheap), and all I needed to do was follow the instructions on the package. I did this first to give my dough the maximum amount of time to rise.

Next up were the onions. While caramelizing this amount of onions takes a while, it's extremely low maintenance and requires little actual work.

Chop

Throw in a pot

Stir every once in a while

The onions took a little over an hour to really caramelize. Just leave them on medium low heat for an hour or so, stirring occasionally. This also gives the dough plenty of time to rise and you time to do productive things like watch The Bachelor and/or paint your nails.

Once the dough has doubled in size and the onions are nice and brown, assemble on an oiled baking sheet and bake. Don't forget to chop some fresh chives over the whole thing at the end.

Boom

French Onion Soup Pizza
Serves 5-6 as dinner


Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 packet instant dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds onions, sliced
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but sherry would be best.)
1 pound gruyere, shredded
freshly snipped chives (for garnish)

Directions:

For the Crust:
Combine the warm water and maple syrup. Sprinkle the yeast onto the sweet water and swirl to combine. Allow it to proof. Add the flours and incorporate on low speed with the dough hook. Add the salt and olive oil. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Coat the surface with additional olive oil, and cover with a damp towel. Set in a warm place to rise, 45 minutes to several hours.

For the Topping:
Heat the first six ingredients in a heavy pot, on medium low heat, for one hour, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees.

Once the dough has doubled in size, flatten it onto an oiled half-sheet pan. Working quickly to avoid the dough rising again, spread the caramelized onions evenly on the dough, and top with shredded gruyere. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Top with freshly snipped chives and truffle oil if you have it.


[Recipe adapted from Yin Mom, Yang Mom]