The flavors of the Acorn Squash and Smoked Gouda couldn’t be more complementary. The mild sweetness of the acorn is cut perfectly with the smokey aged gouda. They both have this way of coating the inside of your mouth, hitting each of your taste receptors, while the crunch of the pizza crust aids with not having a mouth full of baby food. A sprinkling of salt, pepper, and olive oil is added before baking this on a pizza stone at 600°F. The pizza is garnished with mushrooms I slow fried in garlic infused olive oil and some fresh minced chives.
Combine the flour and salt in to a medium size mixing bowl. Combine and stir the water and yeast. Allow the yeast to proof for 10 minutes then add to the flour. Mix all ingredients until a dough forms and the flour is removed from the sides of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
Toppings
Cut the acorn squash in half and coat it with olive oil and salt. Place the flat side down on a lined sheet pan and roast in a preheated 400°F oven for 35 minutes or until a knife can easily pierce the skin.
Allow the squash to cool a bit before you scoop out the insides.
In a cold pan, add 1/4 cup olive oil and 4 smashed garlic cloves. Heat over low heat for 5 minutes then add sliced mushrooms. Cook on low / medium-low for about 15-20 minutes until mushrooms begin to brown. Pour mushrooms, oil, and garlic in to a small bowl to cool and marinate for as long as possible.
This can be done ahead of time and the squash can be cooled. If you're roasting the squash just before you make the pizza, you'll want to preheat the oven about 1 hour 45 minutes before you're ready to eat.
Pizza
An hour before you'r ready to eat, preheat the oven and pizza stone to broil and remove the cold dough from the refrigerator. Using damp hands, transfer the wet dough to a well floured surface. Dry your hands well and dust them with flour. Using flour sparingly, form the wet dough in to a tight smooth ball. Allow it to rest on a floured surface for an hour with the mixing bowl turned over top of it.
Use the palms of your hands to press the dough ball in to a disc. Use floured finger tips to spread it out as wide as possible. Then left one half of the dough and stretch-and-spin the dough along the edges of the crust.
Transfer the dough to a floured pizza peel. Lightly salt and pepper the dough then cover with roasted acorn squash, grated gouda, and a light drizzle of olive oil.
Bake until the dough begins to harden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pizza, add mushrooms, continue to bake until the edges are browned and crispy. Garnish with freshly minced chives.