1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
1/4 cup tomato sauce, store-bought or homemade
1 (3-ounce) sausage link, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers (half of a 12-ounce jar, drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup diced red or yellow onion
1 mounded cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Pre-heat the oven to 550°F or as hot as it will go. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven on a rack in the bottom third of the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, place a baking sheet on the rack to heat with the oven. Heat the oven for at least 30 minutes before baking.
While the oven heats, prepare the pizza. Cut a large square of parchment, and lay the pizza dough in the middle (See Recipe Note). Starting in the middle of the dough and working outward, press and push the dough into a flat round approximately 10-inches wide. If the dough starts to shrink back and wrinkle the parchment, let it sit for about 5 minutes to relax the gluten in the dough, then continue. Once the pizza is shaped, let it sit on the counter to rise until you're ready to top and bake, 15 to 20 minutes.
Prepare all the toppings. If your sausage is not pre-cooked, quickly cook it in a little oil over medium-high heat on the stovetop.
When ready to bake, sprinkle the pizza dough all over with a little salt, then spread the tomato sauce nearly to the edge. Distribute the sausage, red peppers, and onion evenly over the surface of the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
Using a baker's peel or the backside of a baking sheet, transfer the pizza on the parchment into the hot oven. Bake for 5 minutes. By this time, the pizza will have released from the parchment; use a spatula to lift the pizza and slide the parchment out from under the pizza. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes (8 to 10 minutes total), until the crust is golden and charred in spots.
Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and cut into wedges or squares. Serve immediately. Keep any sliced not eaten right away on a cooling rack so the crust doesn't become soggy. Leftovers will keep for a week.
Recipe Notes
- Doubling This Recipe: I usually make 2 pizzas whenever I make this recipe because the ingredients work out more evenly. Two pizzas uses 1 whole (12-ounce) jar of roasted red peppers and half of a 12-ounce package of chicken sausage.
- Baking on Parchment: I bake my pizzas on parchment paper and remove the parchment halfway through cooking; I find this to be the easiest way to transfer a topped pizza in and out of the oven. However, if you prefer a different method, feel free to substitute! The finished pizza will not be affect