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PIZZA FROM SCRATCH…Winning over yeast!!

2008/02/22 / 20 Comments
“The belly rules the mind.”
Spanish Proverb
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PIZZA FROM SCRATCH…
My battle with yeast is an old one…it never seemed to give me results that others proudly displayed. I was beginning to bear a personal grudge against it, when I bumped into Ben! Thankfully we concurred that both our strengths lay in baking powder…YES…and he too was in a yeast dilemma!! As with all battles, this one had to be won, one way or the other. Susan’s recipe from Food Blogga came to my rescue…& I can proudly say…this round was mine. I made a pizza from scratch & the daughter declared it was WAY better than Pizza Hut. I thought so too! All credit to Susan for posting such a fab recipe, step by step, & with bits of wisdom thrown in…there was no way I could have lost this one!
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A delicious slice…baked like we like it!
Pizza has always been on my list of things to do, & I have tried in the past with somewhat disappointing results. This one was great…the dough rose like never before & thrice!! Once in the frdige as well…believe it or not. My only deviation from Susan’s pizza dough recipe was to substitute 1 cup of flour with whole-wheat flour, & I must confess, I let it sit for a second rising in all my excitement! I made the dough the previous day, rested it in the fridge overnight, & it worked great the next day. Thank you Susan. Hey Ben, there’s hope for us!!

The recipe as adapted from Susan’s blog…

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough:
Flour – 4 cups ( original has 5-6 cups)
Wholewheat flour – 1 cup
Instant yeast – 20gms / 2 tbsps
Warm water – 2 cups
Salt – 1 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Olive Oil – 2 tbspcollage collage 1Topping:
Pizza sauce – 1 1/2 cups (of your choice; I made my own)
Olive oil, Mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, sweetcorn, brocolli, red & yellow bell peppers, green peppers, spring onions, oregano etc…whatever catches your fancy or is in the larder!!

Method:

  • Dissolve 2 cups of warm water + yeast + sugar + salt in a bowl.
  • Mix the 2 flours together & add the warm water + olive oil to it & knead to a dough.
  • Transfer to a floured surface & knead well for 5-10 minutes till it forms a soft & silky dough.
  • Place the dough in a large bowl greased with olive oil, & oil the top of the dough too. I covered the bowl with wrap. Let it rest in a warm/draught free place for at least 2-3 hours.
  • Punch the dough down to release the air bubbles. (I let it rise for an hour again just to enjoy the action of yeast & then put it in the fridge after this to use the next day. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to use)
  • Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface to roll out. You can let the rolled out dough rest for about 30 minutes; it will rise slightly and create a puffier crust. I got 3 big thin-crust pizza bases from this dough. Leftover dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

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  • Brush the top with 1 tsp of olive oil. Top lightly with pizza sauce, grate some cheese over it, add the veggies/chicken/whatever, red chili flakes if you like, followed by some more cheese.
  • Bake at 225 degrees C on a pizza sheet for 25-30 minutes / till done. Refer to Susan’s blog if you are lucky enough to own a pizza stone.

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  • ENJOY!!!
  • Note: Do go across to Food Blogga here for hot tips on baking a great pizza!
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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

20 Comments

  • Asha

    2008/02/22 at 5:55 pm Reply

    YAY! At last you got over that Yeastophibia!!:D
    Looks yum. Now you can bake my Herb Roll too. Just make sure Yeast is fresh and let the dough/batter rise in the warm place like inside the warm oven. It will work fine!:)

  • Latha

    2008/02/22 at 6:06 pm Reply

    the pizza looks fresh and colourful for sure! Thank you, dear yeast for co-operating with Deeba;) I love the base in which the pizza is resting… where did you get that? was the pizza baked on that?

  • Susan from Food Blogga

    2008/02/22 at 7:36 pm Reply

    Woo-hoo! I’m thrilled to hear (and see) that the dough came out so beautifully! It really is foolproof, isn’t it? And talk about a perfectly circular pie–wow! Thanks for all kind words, Deeba, and please tell your daughter I’m flattered.
    She sounds like a smart cookie. 😉

  • Reshma

    2008/02/23 at 12:16 am Reply

    what a feast for the eyes! and with such detailed recipe,you have given me the courage to try it on my own:)

  • Raaga

    2008/02/23 at 5:10 am Reply

    Yaaaaaayyyyyyy Deeba… see it wasn’t even half as difficult as you thought it would be 🙂 now there’s no stopping you!!!

  • zlamushka

    2008/02/23 at 9:22 am Reply

    Deeba,

    Wonderful pictures. Pizza from scratch sounds amazing. Great way of using leftovers, too.

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/02/23 at 1:27 pm Reply

    Definitely Asha, with ‘yeastophobia’ finally conquered, yr herb roll is on!!
    Thanks Latha, the pizza baking pan (donno what it’s called) is from Tescos in the UK. A dear friend got it for me…to feed my passion!!
    Mimi, Meeso, VY…thanks for the great words! I love veggies in this form!
    BIG THANKS Susan…u made it happen! Daughter’s flattered in turn, & sometimes is a smarter cookie than I would want her to be!!
    Raaga…great to have you back.
    Reshma…you can do it; its not a big deal, but was a great achievement for me!
    Hi there Zlamushka…from scratch makes the difference; nothing like home-made base! :0)

  • Passionate baker...& beyond

    2008/02/23 at 1:27 pm Reply

    Definitely Asha, with ‘yeastophobia’ finally conquered, yr herb roll is on!!
    Thanks Latha, the pizza baking pan (donno what it’s called) is from Tescos in the UK. A dear friend got it for me…to feed my passion!!
    Mimi, Meeso, VY…thanks for the great words! I love veggies in this form!
    BIG THANKS Susan…u made it happen! Daughter’s flattered in turn, & sometimes is a smarter cookie than I would want her to be!!
    Raaga…great to have you back.
    Reshma…you can do it; its not a big deal, but was a great achievement for me!
    Hi there Zlamushka…from scratch makes the difference; nothing like home-made base! :0)

  • jo

    2008/02/24 at 9:35 am Reply

    pizza looks great, i will try it for sure.
    can we also have piza sauce recipe, it looks so red, have u used colour?

  • Miri

    2008/02/25 at 12:07 pm Reply

    I made pizza from scratch for the first time when I was 15 – with my father doing the kneading! Unfortunately that was the last time – I have been thinking of doing this for a long time now – and if YOU could have yeastophobia, then I surely can pass muster! Lovely looking pizza – and of course it was better than Pizza Hut!!!

  • Roopa

    2008/03/20 at 4:05 pm Reply

    Hi deeba, first time on your site. I was reffered here by my cousin. I saw that you made a wonderful pizza here:) I would lvoe to know a little more things you did while making this pizza. When i made pizza, its always had one or the other problem, the first time i made , the base didnt get cooked well, the second time, the dough was sooo thick i had to throw it away, the third time , the pizza rose like a big bread and it was like having pav bhaji (bun type) 🙁 i threw away that also, i love thincrust pizza, i dont have a poizza stone , only a silicon round baking dish, that can accomodate a medium size round chapathi (just fyi for the size). I think my mistake the third time was i rolled it too thick, please let me know if there are any suggestion:) one more thing , is the pizza crust like naan? i mean is it just the same way ?

  • Rajani

    2008/08/20 at 5:23 am Reply

    deeba!!! I made pizza from scratch y’day – from your recipe – it was fantasmagoric! will post about it!!!! I am sooooo thrilled thanks for such a great recipe-and trust me I am really a first time baker and your instructions werepretty sufficient for me!!!!

  • Ford Middle East

    2009/11/24 at 1:12 pm Reply

    Thanks for your blog on lovely evergreen pizza.Photos are extra ordinary and yummy!!!!!!

  • kadambari kaul

    2013/05/04 at 11:01 am Reply

    Heyy there ! tried pizza recipe yesterday , turned out okeyish….tried again with the same dough but baked the base first for 14 min then added toppings and it was tasty enough to curb the pizza craving . I didnt have good mozzrella , that was one setback . which brand of mozzrella did u use ? if possible pls share . Thanx for incredible recipes and experiences .

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