Deep Dish Baked Potato Pizza

This recipe is inspired by an appetizer I used to get at a pizza restaurant before I went vegan.  Creamy mashed potatoes sit in a delicious deep crust, topped with melty Daiya, sweet, salty homemade bacon bits, and a dollop of non-dairy sour cream.  Delicious, comforting, and another excuse to make pizza!

Notes: I decided to make a spelt crust, but you can adjust the recipe based on what flour you have on hand.  I only had 1 ½ cups of spelt, so I made my crust half spelt, half unbleached white flour, and it came out great!  I used an 8-inch cast iron for my pizza, but the crust recipe makes enough for a much larger pizza.  I’ve used a springform pan for a deep dish pizza before which worked just as nicely.  Additional dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the freezer for later use.  Make a judgement of how many potatoes to use based on the size of pan you are using by laying a single layer of potatoes in your pan to cover the bottom.  I bought a small variety bag of fingerling potatoes from the store, but any small potato you can keep the skin on will work well.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 pkg active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
• 3/4 c warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 c spelt flour
• 1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

For the bacon bits:

• 1/3 c rehydrated textured vegetable protein
• 1 tsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp agave
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 2-3 dashes liquid smoke
• Salt & pepper

For the potato topping:

• 1/2 lb fingerling potatoes
• Unsweetened non-dairy milk
• Earth Balance
• Tofutti sour cream
• Salt
• Cheddar Daiya cheese

Method:

1. Dissolve yeast & sugar in the warm water and let sit for about 10 minutes.  Add the flours and salt in a separate mixing bowl and combine with a fork.  When the yeast mixture is ready and foamy, add to the flour mixture, along with the olive oil.  Mix the dough with a fork until it starts coming together, and then use your hands to start kneading the dough.  Add up to ¼ cup additional warm water, if needed, to hold the dough together.  Alternately, add additional flour if dough becomes too sticky while kneading.  When the dough becomes smooth and is only slightly sticky, form into a ball and place in a clean bowl at least twice the size of the dough.  Rub olive oil over the dough, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.  While your dough is doubling in size, prepare the bacon bits and mashed potato topping.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Rehydrate your textured protein by simmering the pieces in water for a few minutes in a saucepan.  Once rehydrated, strain pieces to remove any excess water, and place in a bowl with the tamari, agave, nutritional yeast, and liquid smoke.  Stir and spread out on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper or non-stick foil.  Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through baking and adding additional seasoning if necessary.  The bacon bits will start to get chewy and crispy.  Remove from the oven before they start to darken too much, as they will continue crisping up on the pizza, and increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees.
3. Scrub potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks, and place in a saucepan covered in salted water, over medium heat.  Boil potatoes until fork tender, strain, and place back in the saucepan.  Mash potatoes with a splash of unsweetened non-dairy milk, and a small spoonful each of Earth Balance and sour cream.  Add salt to taste, and more Earth Balance and sour cream, if desired.
4. After your dough has doubled in size, punch it down, and knead a few times on a floured surface.  Let rest for a minute.  Brush olive oil on your cast iron skillet.  Roll out dough and press in your skillet, covering the bottom and up the sides.  Let one inch of dough hang out of the pan and cut any excess beyond that off.  Fold extra dough back into the pan and press to create a thick outer crust. 
5. Brush crust with olive oil, and top with mashed potatoes, a small handful of shredded cheddar, and another handful of bacon bits.  Bake for 15 minutes.  In the last five minutes of baking, I brushed some additional olive oil on the outer crust to get it nice and browned.  Once the crust has browned and the cheese has melted, remove from the oven.  Top with additional bacon bits and a dollop of sour cream.  Enjoy!