Savor the Flavors: Ultimate Caramelized Onion, Bacon & Fontina Pizza with Homemade Crust
The perfect summer pizza topped with sweet caramelized onions, crispy bacon, juicy cherry tomatoes, and creamy fontina cheese. This recipe isn’t just a meal; it’s an experience, bringing vibrant flavors and a touch of gourmet to your homemade pizza night.
Can you believe it? I’m actually posting a non-dessert recipe! For those who follow my culinary adventures, it might come as a surprise, as my blog has long been a haven for all things sweet and sugary. But it’s true, my palate savors more than just delightful pastries and decadent cakes—though, let’s be honest, chocolate cake sometimes makes a perfectly acceptable meal in my book.
A new, exciting goal of mine is to diversify this blog by sharing more savory delights. It’s a journey to push myself outside of my comfortable sweet tooth bubble, exploring new ingredients, techniques, and flavor combinations that excite and inspire. And what better way to kick off this delicious new chapter than with a universally beloved dish: pizza?
I’m not entirely sure why it’s taken me so long to share this incredible homemade pizza dough recipe with you. It’s a staple in my kitchen, a true “never fail” recipe that consistently delivers a perfectly chewy and flavorful crust. This fantastic dough actually comes from The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook, renowned for its simple yet robust recipes, and it lives up to its reputation by being super easy to make. I’ve experimented with a wide variety of toppings over the years, but this particular creation—featuring caramelized onions, crispy bacon, fresh cherry tomatoes, and melty fontina cheese—is my most recent, and I truly believe, my absolute favorite so far.
This pizza is deeply inspired by a dish I’ve thoroughly enjoyed at a local casual Italian restaurant here in Salt Lake City, Vinto. Their take on fresh, light yet incredibly flavorful pizzas sparked the idea to recreate that magic at home. The result is a pizza that feels incredibly fresh and light, yet is packed with such a harmonious blend of wonderful, robust flavors that it truly stands out.
Crafting the Perfect Homemade Pizza Dough
Every great pizza begins with an exceptional crust, and this recipe delivers just that. The process starts simply: a bit of active dry yeast is combined with warm water, allowing it to bloom and become creamy. This step is crucial, as it activates the yeast, ensuring your dough will rise beautifully and develop that airy, tender texture we all crave in a pizza crust.
Once the yeast is ready, it’s combined with all-purpose flour, a touch of kosher salt for flavor, and a generous amount of olive oil. These simple ingredients are then kneaded together, either by hand or with the help of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Watching the dough come together, transforming from a shaggy mixture into a smooth, elastic ball, is truly a magical experience. It’s a testament to the power of basic ingredients creating something extraordinary.
After kneading, the dough is placed in a greased bowl, covered, and left to rise in a warm place for one to two hours. It’s during these few hours that truly magical things happen. The yeast gets to work, fermenting the sugars in the flour and releasing carbon dioxide, causing the dough to double in size. This rising process develops the flavor and creates the signature texture of a perfect pizza crust.
This recipe yields a generous amount of dough. If you prefer a thick, hearty crust, the full batch is the perfect amount for one large pizza. However, if you, like me, often lean towards a thinner, crispier crust (which is what I opted for with this particular pizza), you can easily divide the dough in half. One half can be used immediately, while the other can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the fridge for up to a week, or even frozen for several months, ready for your next pizza craving. This flexibility makes homemade pizza incredibly convenient and cost-effective.
Assembling Your Gourmet Masterpiece: The Toppings
Once your meticulously prepared dough is ready, the fun really begins: it’s time to add the toppings. For me, a pizza simply isn’t a pizza without the fresh, vibrant flavors of basil and tomatoes. They are the backbone of many Italian-inspired dishes and bring an essential brightness to the rich and savory elements of this pizza.
And, of course, a generous layer of delicious cheese is non-negotiable. For this recipe, fontina (or fontinella) cheese is the star. Its semi-soft texture and nutty, slightly earthy flavor melt beautifully, creating a creamy, bubbly blanket that perfectly complements the other toppings. It’s a step that guarantees a satisfyingly gooey and flavorful bite with every slice.
The Magic of Caramelized Onions and Crispy Bacon
The true stars of this pizza, however, are undoubtedly the caramelized onions and the crispy bacon. The process of caramelizing onions, slowly cooking them until they transform into tender, golden-brown strands bursting with a deep, sweet, and savory flavor, is a labor of love that pays off immensely. The sweetness of the onions provides a beautiful contrast to the salty, savory crunch of the bacon. To achieve perfectly crispy bacon, I recommend cooking it in a skillet until golden brown and then draining it on paper towels before adding it to the pizza.
Once you’ve layered these fantastic toppings – starting with a light brush of olive oil on the crust, followed by the shredded cheese, then the bacon, caramelized onions, and halved cherry tomatoes, finished with a sprinkle of salt and pepper – your pizza is ready for its quick trip to a super-hot oven. Preheat your oven to a blazing 500°F (260°C) to ensure a fast cook and a perfectly crisp crust. After only a few minutes in the oven, you’ll be rewarded with one amazing, bubbling, golden-edged pizza.
It just needs a final flourish of fresh basil, chopped and sprinkled generously over the hot pizza right after it comes out of the oven. The warmth of the pizza gently wilts the basil, releasing its aromatic oils and adding an unparalleled freshness to every bite.
Perfect. This pizza truly is an ode to fresh ingredients and balanced flavors. The caramelized onions, in particular, are what elevate this pizza to an extraordinary level. Their deep, honeyed sweetness plays beautifully against the salty, smoky notes of the bacon and the bright, bursting juiciness of the cherry tomatoes. The creamy fontina ties all these elements together, creating a symphony of textures and tastes that is simply irresistible. I’d happily eat those caramelized onions plain, but on this pizza, next to these other incredible toppings, they are pure perfection.
If these specific toppings aren’t exactly what you’re craving, feel free to swap them out for just about anything that strikes your fancy. The beauty of homemade pizza is its versatility. But please, whatever toppings you choose, do try this pizza crust recipe. It’s an absolute winner – reliable, easy, and consistently delicious. It will quickly become your go-to recipe for homemade pizza nights.
Pizza with caramelized onions, bacon, cherry tomatoes, and fontina
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Ingredients
Pizza Crust:
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Toppings:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups fontina or fontinella cheese , shredded
- 1 small yellow onion , sliced thin
- 2 strips of bacon , diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- A bunch of basil , chopped
Instructions
To make the pizza crust:
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Combine the active dry yeast with the warm water and let sit for 5 minutes until yeast is dissolved and mixture is creamy.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the olive oil until it is just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir the yeast mixture and with the mixer still on low, slowly add the yeast mixture until the dough forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan.
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Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for one to two hours.
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Divide dough in half if you are aiming for a thin crust. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to one week and in the freezer for several moths. Press the other half of the dough (or all of it for a thicker crust) into a sheet pan.
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Preheat the oven to 500°F and prepare the toppings.
To prepare the pizza:
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Cook the bacon in a saute pan over medium heat until browned and crispy. Spoon onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Set aside.
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In the same pan, melt the butter. Add the sliced onions and cook over medium low heat until brown and caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. I like to help the caramelizing process along by adding a tablespoon of water when the onion start to turn brown. The water dissolves the brown bits stuck on the bottom of the pan and as it evaporates leaves the caramel color and flavor on the onions.
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Spread the olive oil on the prepared pizza crust with olive oil with either a brush or your fingers. Sprinkle the crust with the shredded cheese. Add the bacon, caramelized onions, and sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Bake until crust is golden at the edges and the cheese is bubbling, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped basil. Serve immediately.