Mountain Pie Pizza Recipe

I’ll be honest – the trend of putting honey on pizza isn’t generally my thing. So, I wasn’t expecting to find a honey-based pizza I was going to get buzzed about. But, Colorado’s unique twist on pizza is an unexpected delight and so I had to recreate it myself with this mountain pie pizza recipe!

And I won’t kid you, I found it quite hard to get the braid as visually stunning as you’ll find it at Beau Jo’s. Still, while we both work on getting it perfect, you’re still going to be enjoying delicious pizza!

Exploring the Rockies – And Their Pizza

Unlike many of the stories behind pizza, the origin of Colorado Mountain Pie is actually known. Back in 1973, Chip Bair purchased Beau Jo’s Pizza restaurant in Idaho Springs (33 miles west of Denver in the Front Range portion of the Rocky Mountains). Bair apparently wanted to create a new style of pizza and by braiding the outside crust, visually defining a new genre of pizza.

Beau Jo’s new pizza was a hit and it allowed the restaurant to expand with 5 more locations. Much like your waistline might expand with this generous-sized pizza! So generous, it could be its own ski resort!

Rocky Mountain-High Pizza Pie?

And if you’re wondering, Bob Denver’s famous song, Rocky Mountain High, came out the year before in 1972. Could it have inspired Chip? Maybe. Maybe he was singing along to it on the radio while he created his masterpiece.

I like to think so anyway. Because I was!

“I know he’d be a poorer man…if he never tried this pie…Rocky Mountain High”

Up the Mountain and Down to Business

Making Colorado Mountain Pie Pizza Dough

Beau Jo’s knows they make a Colorado pizza that isn’t going to be easily beat at home. And that’s why they are willing to put a whole post on how to make their pizza dough on their website. I just think that’s awesome.

So know in advance, I’m basically parroting them. I mean, they invented the pizza over 50 years ago – what can I say that they don’t know??

Ingredients for Colorado Mountain Pie Pizza Dough

• 2 cups of bread flour
• 2 tablespoons (or 1 packet) of dry yeast (they do allow you to substitute instant or fresh)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey*
• 3/4 cup of warm water (but below 110 F)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (apparently soy bean)
• 2 teaspoons of salt

* Honey is sweeter than sugar – normally, you would use 2/3 as much honey as you would sugar. But since this pizza’s secret ingredient is honey, using a larger amount is on purpose. Note also that honey can slow yeast blooming, so using a larger amount of yeast is helpful.

How to Make Colorado Mountain Pizza Dough

Paraphrasing Beau Jo’s instructions for making Colorado mountain pizza dough:

• Add the warm water, honey, and yeast to a stand mixing bowl.
• Mix thoroughly with a small whisk or spoon.
• Allow the yeast to bloom for a least 5 minutes (when bubbles should form).
• Add half (1 cup) of flour to the mixing bowl and start at its lowest setting.
• Add the olive oil and salt and continue to mix.
• Add the remaining cup of flour and continue to mix for about 3 minutes. The dough should be well mixed and relatively dry (not sticking to the bowl or your hands). Knead in your hands for a minute or two to ensure it feels well mixed and form into a ball.
• Cover the dough ball with a damp tea towel or cloth for at least 30 minutes, but as long as 3 hours.

Rolling & Braiding Colorado Pizza Dough

Although this dough is not supposed to be paper thin, having a consistent thickness will help make the braiding and final dough go better.

• Dust your work area with bread flour.
• Use your hands to begin to flatten the dough into a thick disk.
• Use a large, heavy rolling pin to flatten the dough further.
  • You’ll want the final dough to be at least 1″ wider all the way around than the final pizza.
  • So, if we’re making a 12″ pizza, we want the dough to be at least 14″ in diameter after rolling.

• Lightly oil the pizza pan with olive oil. Use a basting brush to spread the oil across the entire pan.
• Transfer the dough to the pizza pan.
  • The edges of the dough will hang over the outside – try to keep it even on all sides.
  • You should be able to straighten the dough a little without tearing the dough, but if you’re not sure – don’t push your luck!
• Use a docking wheel (or an ordinary fork) to dock the dough extensively in the inner portion. Ideally, you should not dock the outer 2″ ring (or not very much).

• Use a knife or scissors to cut a slit in the over hanging dough.

• Roll and pinch a triangle of dough from the outside to the center.
• Repeat along the entire crust.

Topping Your Mountain Pie Pizza

The lovely braided edge of your pizza dough is designed to create “a barrier to hold in a mountain full of fresh toppings, to satisfy an adventurous appetite”. Who can argue with that? But first, let’s talk about the sauce.

Colorado Mountain Pie Pizza Recipe for Sauce

Beau Jo’s offers 9 different pizza sauces but the most notable is their “standard”, Beau Jo’s Pizza Sauce.

Not surprisingly, Colorado Mountain pie pizza sauce is noted for being a little bit sweet – again because of the addition of honey. Beau Jo’s has their standard sauce made offsite, canned, and sent to their restaurant. This means that the sauce is cooked as part of the canning process.

• 6 ounces of canned tomato paste
• 6 ounces of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Stir and simmer on low heat for at least 10 minutes. Longer simmering time will reduce the sauce more, which can be helpful if the tomatoes are watery.

Additional Toppings for Colorado Mountain Pie

Besides sauce, Beau Jo’s doesn’t have a “standard” topping so this Mountain pie pizza recipe doesn’t assume you have to follow any rules on your favorite topping. The menu on their website includes a wide variety of choices – from Margherita to heavily loaded combos like the Motherlode. With 15 menu pizzas between the Foothills and the Summit plus 30 toppings to choose from if you make your own, the sky is the limit!

Time for More Honey!

However you top your Colorado Mountain Pie, you’ve still got more honey to add!

Your pie may be golden and glorious, but this recipe needs more liquid gold. At a minimum, you will probably want to drizzle honey over the edge of the crust. Sure this will make it sticky to eat with your fingers – but that’s just how this one is done!

Depending on your choice of toppings, you may want to add more honey across the top.

But why stop there? In Beau Jo’s you’ll find the pizza gets served with a side of honey for dipping that thick crust.

Tips & Tricks for Colorado Mountain Pie

• Braiding the dough at the edge of the crust is…difficult! I made a number of attempts and never felt I had a pretty braid. Nonetheless, the outer crust still puffed out marvelously every time. So don’t sweat it too much!
• Not everyone loves their pizza sweet. If you’re not sure about how sweet, you can serve the pizza with honey on the side for your family and friends to drizzle to their own taste.
• Colorado Mountain Pie can have all sorts of toppings. They can be pretty stacked with toppings too (like a “real” pie). Everyone has their own preferences but I’d suggest being modest with your toppings unless you don’t mind using a fork and knife!

August 19, 2024