“The belly rules the mind.”
Spanish Proverb
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!
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 tbsp
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!!
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:
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Dissolve 2 cups of warm water + yeast + sugar + salt in a bowl.
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Mix the 2 flours together & add the warm water + olive oil to it & knead to a dough.
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Transfer to a floured surface & knead well for 5-10 minutes till it forms a soft & silky dough.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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!!!
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Note: Do go across to Food Blogga here for hot tips on baking a great pizza!
