Pizza@Home

It wasn’t very long ago that I realised that making pizza dough is no rocket science! I used to steer clear from kneading any kind of dough to avoid long hours of wait for it to rise and shine.

So here’s a quick way to make the most amazing pizza base in just 45 minutes. An extra perk along with that is my favourite unique toppings ideas :-)

Ingredients for the pizza base:

flour

1.5 cups of warm water

2 tsp of dried yeast

A pinch of sugar & salt

4 cups of plain flour (Maida)

¼ cup of cooking oil of your choice. I prefer olive or grape seed

Method:

the risen dough balls

Now simply combine water, sugar and yeast in a bowl and allow it to froth for say 5-10 minutes. In a bigger bowl combine the flour and salt and then add the worked up yeast and oil to it. You can use a fork or a pizza cutter to mix all the ingredients together but eventually it’s the magic of your hands that would bring the dough together. It will take about 10 minutes to smoothen the dough. I suggest you dust the surface with some flour beforehand. Once done, tip this dough in another big bowl that has been brushed with oil. Turn the dough around a bit so that it gets an even oil coat. Cover with cling film and let it rest in a warm nook of the kitchen for 30 to 40

minutes. You would notice that the dough has doubled in size.  

 Toppings:

Margherita pizza

pizza margherita tastes even better with mozzarella & thick crust

During one of the food tours in Italy I discovered that Pizza Margherita was a dedication to the three colours of the Italian national flag. The basil represents green, cheese signifies white and tomato translates to the third colour that is red.

For the tomato sauce cook some garlic in olive oil until fragrant and pale. Now add 200ml tomato puree, basil leaves and a pinch of salt and let it simmer until it thickens. This should take about half an hour. Now add seasoning of salt and let it cool. Now place the dough on a parchment sheet dusted with some flour. With a rolling pin, roll out the pizza base into 14 inches diameter. Put together the pizza by first spreading the tomato sauce, then crumbling soft cheddar cheese on top and then baking in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree till such time that the cheese melts and turns golden in some places. Serve hot with a further sprinkling of basil leaves on top.

Goat’s cheese and caramelised onions

Goat's cheese and caramelized onions

The husband’s favourite pizza topping. Fairly simple with the most amazing goat’s cheese. Take 2 thinly sliced onions and leave them to sweat on the stove with a good drizzle of olive oil. If the onions start to get a little crisp, cover with a lid after adding a spoon of water. Once ready, add a pinch of salt and pepper to them.

Now thin down the goat’s cheese by adding a little bit of water so that it becomes spreadable. Now on the base first put goat’s cheese spread, then the caramelised onions, then some sautéed spinach leaves and small blobs of fresh goat’s cheese again. This beauty then goes straight into the oven. Before serving throw on a few arugula leaves.

Chocolate pizza

fruit and chocolate pizza

I am fascinated with pizza served as a dessert. When I was young, Baskin Robbins had come up with the polar pizza my biggest go to dessert every time I craved crispy dough and chocolate. This one is my version of Chocolate pizza which is more of a Nutella pizza

On the pizza base, brush on a little bit of butter and bake for about 20 minutes until its nice and golden. Smooth over the Nutella, some bitter, sweet white and dark chocolate chunks and some toasted hazelnuts. You can also add bananas, a few blueberries and strawberries if you wish. To replicate the cheese, you can also use blobs of crème fraise.Delicioussss!