Recipe: ‘The Renaissance’

This pizza was known as Chef’s Choice until chef Wayne deGroot and wife and business partner Jocelyn Morwood-deGroot learned the owner of the highrise where they live and work in London, Ont., loves the pizza.

The couple pay homage to the building name “The Renaissance” with this mix of a meat lover’s and a loaded vegan pizza. “Lots of whole food. Lots of proper nutrition that sits on a crispy, thin crust,” deGroot says.

DOUGH

• Whole-wheat flour
• All-purpose flour
• Dry yeast
• Salt
• Water

SAUCE  

• Organic tomatoes
• Garlic
• Sweet onion
• Seasoning

TOPPINGS  

• Garlic-oiled organic spinach
• Organic sweet potato
• Organic grape tomatoes
• Organic sausage
• Organic bacon
• Bocconcini mozzarella
• Parmesan cheese

METHOD  
We start with local flour, mixing the company’s whole-wheat and all-purpose flour with dry yeast, salt and water. Then we ball up the dough and let them sit for a half day. We make our own sauce using organic tomatoes, garlic, sweet onion and seasoning. We use the double-bake method and top it up with garlic oiled organic spinach and sweet potato, organic grape tomatoes, organic sausage, organic bacon, bocconcini mozzarella and Parmesan.
We finish by sprinkling on a little bite of housemade cayenne pepper sauce.

Wayne deGroot and wife Jocelyn Morwood-deGroot own Zen’Za Pizzeria, in London, Ont.