Pizza Soleil/ Sun Shaped Mushroom & Chicken Sausage Pizza

Sun shaped pizza, you might have crossed this beautifully stuffed sun shaped pizzas if you would have searched for a different shape pizza's collection easily available in this virtual world. Recently i baked this gorgeous looking pizza at home as am a member of a French Baking Group Defi Boulange, created by Nadia and Manue.Its a group where Manue and Nadia shares their beautiful bakes every month and the members of this group should bake their version of the month's challenged bake with their own ingredients. This month's challenge is this Pizza Soleil, soleil means Sun in French as this pizza looks like a Sun, the name suits absolutely prefect na. Since my kids are in vacation, we had loads of fun making this pizza at home and the measurements given for making the dough for this pizza is quite enough to feed largely 4-5peoples. Make it for a lunch or dinner and enjoy with a salad, am sure you will definitely have a satisfying meal.

You can make this Sun shaped pizza with any stuffings/fillings, even a sweet filling works wonder in this pizza, but i opted for a savoury one. My stuffing goes for a store bought pizza sauce cooked with finely chopped mushroom and chicken sausages. If you want you can bake this pizza completely as a vegetarian one just by adding your choice of veggies, even a simple spiced tomato sauce topped with grated cheese suits prefect for making this damn cute looking pizza. If you have your kids around, ask them to participate with you, am sure they will definitely have loads of fun with you while kneading and shaping this pizza. My kids enjoyed thoroughly this delicious pizza for their lunch when they were still warm with a simple salad, this attractive sun shaped pizza is definitely a kid pleaser also suits prefectly for a get together and why not for a sunday brunch, the choice is yours. However the yeasted dough and the stuffing can be prepared a day before in case if you are planning to make this pizza for a brunch. Give a try friends, and follow my stepwise picture while shaping you wont go wrong.

For dough:

• 2cups All purpose flour/Bread flour
• 1/2tbsp Instant dry yeast
• 1tsp Sugar
• 1/2tsp Salt
• 3bsp Olive oil
• 3/4cup Luke warm water
• Take the flour, dry instant yeast, sugar, salt in a large bowl, add the luke warm water and knead for a while, gradually add the olive oil.
• Knead everything a soft and smooth dough, arrange the dough in a greased bowl.
• Keep the dough in a warm place for an hour.
• For Filling:
• 1bottle Pizza sauce
• 1/2cup Chopped mushrooms
• 1cup Chopped chicken sausage pieces
• Chopped parsley
• Pepper
• Salt
• 1tbsp Oil
• 1cup Grated processed cheese (i used emmental cheese)

Heat the oil, add the chopped mushrooms, saute for few minutes, add in the chopped chicken sausages.

Cook everything for few minutes, add the pizza sauce, chopped parsley,pepper and salt and cook for few minutes until the sauce turns thick.

Keep aside and let it cool completely.

Shaping the pizza soleil:

Punch down the dough and divide as two equal balls.

Take a dough ball and flatten it as 1 inch thick, transfer it to a baking sheet lined over a baking tray.

Drop the filling as shown in the picture and top it with grated cheese.

Roll the dough ball again as an another round disc ( a bit larger than the first one).

Take carefully and close the filling completely. Keep a bowl in the centre, with a tooth pick or a fork, prick a small round center around the edges of the bowl.

Remove it and top it with the cheese.

Now seal the edges of the pizza nicely with the help of a fork and cut as segments as show in the picture.

Once done, take carefully the slices and turn them towards you, complete the same process with the remaining slices.

Cover the sun shaped pizza and keep in a warm place for 45minutes or until they get rise.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Arrange the baking tray in the middle rack and bake for 30-35minutes or until the crust turns brown.

Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool a bit.

Enjoy with a salad for your lunch or for your dinner.

Notes:

You can make the dough with half all purpose flour and half wheat flour.

Since the dough doesnt need eggs, any vegetarian filling can make this pizza as a vegetarian one.

Stuffing can be anything, but take care the filling not be watery or hot while shaping your pizza.

I added the cheese to the center of the pizza, if its too much cheese, just skip it.

You make this pizza as sweet with nutella spread, cinnamon sugar, jam etc.