Veggie Pizza
I love pizza and have until now bought it from the various
outlets and supermarkets. The pizza outlets do have slight variation in the
quality of pizza they make. I go for the vegetarian options but keeping in mind
my allergies I have to avoid mushrooms and bell peppers. T used to have deep
pan pizza all the time and eventually discovered the thin crust which I like as
it is less oily and nicely crunchy. However it is still pretty heavy on the
cheese and sometimes I do not like that sweetness of the tomato paste spread on
the base. So then I started buying readymade pizza base and putting my own
toppings and baking it in the oven. This was definitely an improvement as I put
in less cheese and just fresh tomatoes instead of the paste and fresh
combination.
I had wanted to make the pizza from scratch for a long time
but always put it off saying it was too time consuming, it needed a lot of
kneading and my hands were not up to it or even its cold and the dough will not
rise properly and oh yes! I do not have 00 Italian flour. Well since I have
come to a warmer land I thought the main excuse of the dough not rising does not
apply any more. My hands do not feel so bad and if they hurt after kneading
will take a couple of days to rest them.
The first time I tried with ordinary wheat flour and used
dried yeast that had been opened and stored in a glass jar. The taste of the
pizza was good but the rise of the dough was not as anticipated so the
fluffiness did not come up to expectation. Then I found the 00 Italian flour
and decided to try again. I also bought sachets of dried yeast so that they
were still potent. The pleasure of eating the pizza made from 00 flour is something
else. I will try again with the plain flour and see if the taste can still
equal that of 00 flour. Toppings can be whatever you can find or want to make your
perfect pizza.
Ingredients
450 gms of flour (plain or 00 Italian)
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 packet(7 gms) of
active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons regular sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
Preparation
In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil
into the water and leave for a few minutes to froth.
Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in
the middle pour the mixture of yeast, water, oil and sugar into it. Using a fork,
bring the flour in slowly from the sides to mix into the liquid. Keep mixing
till it all starts to come together. Then put it onto a floured surface and knead
the dough with clean, flour-dusted hands, until you have a smooth and springy
dough.
Wash out your bowl, dry it and oil it lightly. Place the dough
in the bowl and turn it overso it is coated with oil. Cover the bowl with a
damp cloth or cling film and place in a warm room or an oven (not turned on) for
about an hour or till it doubles in size.
Now put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and gently
deflate it with your hands. (You can keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the
fridge (or freezer) until required.) This dough will make 2 deep pan or 4 think
crust pizzas. You need to roll out the pizza as thin as you want. Timing-wise,
it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want
to cook them.
Turn the oven to full and heat the pizza stone or flat baking
tray for a good 15 to 20 mins so it is very hot. Since I do not have those big
spatulas to slide the pizza on to the stone I carefully lift the stone out and place
the pizza on it and add the toppings fast. I sprinkle of grated cheese (chedder
or Devonshire or similar hard cheese), then sliced onions, garlic and chillies.
Next put diced tomatoes and top it with some more cheese for that bubbly cheese
effect. You can add basil leaves or a few drops of pesto, or some olives, mozzarella,
sweet corn, pineapple and so on, whatever takes your fancy. I have seen sliced
boiled potatoes and honey (in Malta) or aubergine and of course different
cheeses like feta and boccacini.
Then transfer the stone back into the oven and bake for
about 10 minutes for the thicker pizza and less for the thinner ones, until
crisp and bubbling.
It smells heavenly while cooking and spread through the
house. Hard to remember this is piping hot when it comes out of the oven and easy
to burn your mouth in haste to eat.
