Sicilian-Style Pizza with Sweet Potatoes, Bacon, Provolone and Chives

The extra-thick Sicilian-style crust in this pizza gets a bit of nutty crunch from cornmeal in the dough. Sweet potatoes are an unexpected topping, but when sliced super-thin, they bake up tender and sweet, with the bacon providing a salty counterpoint.

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Unbleached all-purpose flour, for rolling
• 1-1/2 lb. Make-Ahead Pizza Dough, cornmeal variation (3/4 of the full recipe, a dough ball about the size of a grapefruit)
• 1 scant cup Easy Pizza Sauce 
• 8 oz. thinly sliced provolone
• 3 oz. thick slab bacon, diced and cooked until just shy of crisp
• 3 oz. raw sweet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 1/2 tsp. thinly sliced fresh chives

At
least 30 minutes before baking, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven
and if using a pizza stone, set it on the rack. (If you don’t have a stone, use
a heavy-duty 13x18-inch baking sheet lightly oiled with olive oil.) Heat the
oven to 500°F. If using a pizza stone, dust a peel with unbleached all-purpose
flour.

While
the oven heats, generously flour the dough and then stretch and tuck it under
itself, giving it quarter turns as you form a ball of dough with a smooth top.
Let rest on the work surface, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30
minutes and up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, prep all the toppings as directed in the
ingredient list before you begin shaping your dough.

Once
the dough has rested, very lightly flour your work surface and lay your dough
ball in the center of the floured area. Flour your hands and then, using your
palms and fingertips, press and stretch the dough into a rough circle about 12
inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. Or use a floured rolling pin to roll the
dough into a circle; if sticky spots occur, flour your fingertips (or your
rolling pin) and continue stretching the dough. Flip the dough occasionally so
it doesn’t stick to the work surface, and use a dough scraper to detach the
dough from the work surface if it does stick. If the dough continually
contracts, let it rest, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 10
to 15 minutes before resuming the stretching process. It’s OK if your dough
isn’t a perfect circle. Transfer the stretched dough to the prepared pizza peel
or baking sheet (if using a baking sheet, try to press the dough all the way
out to the corners).

Using
the back of a large spoon, spread the tomato sauce onto the stretched dough,
leaving about a 1/2-inch border. Distribute the provolone, bacon, and sweet potatoes evenly over the sauce.

If
using a baking sheet, put it on the rack. If using a pizza stone, shake the
peel a bit to make sure the pizza isn’t stuck and then slide the pizza off the
peel and onto the heated stone (Aim for the back of the stone and place the end
of the peel there). Bake, turning the pizza with a peel or tongs if one side
browns faster than the other, until the crust is nicely browned and crisp and
the cheese is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes on a pizza stone, or 25 to 30
minutes on a baking sheet. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, scatter the chives over the pizza, and let stand
for 1 to 2 minutes before cutting it with a pizza wheel, kitchen shears, or a
chef’s knife.