Y is for Yeast

This week it was my (Simona's) turn to concoct a recipie starting with the letter "Y" or containing an ingredient that begins with "Y." We've pretty much exhausted the obvious choices - yams, yucca, etc. So I went with yeast and made a delicious pizza bianca with goat cheese and spinach. The dough rose for about 5 1/2 hours, but it was worth the wait for the crunchy, light texture that resulted.

Crust:
3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour

Seasoned oil:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Topping:
10 oz. fresh spinach, stems removed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
Yellow cornmeal
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

Preparation

For crust: Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil and salt, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare seasoned oil: Mix oil, garlic, and red pepper in small bowl. Let stand 1 hour.

For topping: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add spinach and sautee 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes.
Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle mozzarella over dough, leaving 1-inch border. Scatter chard over mozzarella. Top with goat cheese. Brush crust edge with some of seasoned oil. Set aside 2 teaspoons seasoned oil; drizzle remaining oil over pizza.
Bake pizza until crust is brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; brush edge with seasoned oil and serve.