Homemade Pizza

One way to please everyone at the table is to custom-make pizza at home: Prepare a selection of toppings and take orders. Usually, I have to prepare one medium cheese and Large Veggie-lover’s Pizza. These days, it takes very less time to prepare pizza, I should say, less than ordering pizza!!! Plus, kids get to enjoy making their own personal pizza as well…


Homemade Pizza

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Author: Bhavna

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

  • Rapid rise yeast 2 Teaspoon
  • Sugar 1 Tablespoon
  • Warm water 1 1/4 Cup (20 tbs)
  • Oil 4 Tablespoon (3 – 4 tablespoons)
  • Salt To Taste
  • Garlic powder 1/4 Teaspoon (Optional)
  • Dry italian herbs 1 Tablespoon (Optional)
  • Plain flour 3 Cup (48 tbs) (2 1/2 – 3 cups)
  • Tomatoes 5 (4 -5 tomatoes)
  • Red bell pepper 1/2

FOR THE SAUCE

  • Carrot 1 , sliced
  • Onion 1/2 , sliced
  • Garlic 3 Clove (15 gm) (2 – 3 cloves)
  • Chopped basil leaves 1/4 Cup (4 tbs)
  • Salt To Taste
  • Paprika/Chilli powder To Taste
  • Sugar To Taste (Optional)

Instructions

GETTING READY

  • For the dough – In a mixing bowl, add in the yeast, sugar, warm water, oil, salt, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Let it bloom for sometime.
  • Add in the flour and knead with dough hook, using a stand mixer for 6 – 10 minutes.
  • Spread some oil over the dough and on mixing bowl and let it rise, twice or thrice, about 30 minutes.
  • For the sauce – in a pressure cooker, add in the veggies and salt. Cook for a few minutes.
  • Remove the skin of tomatoes and red bell pepper and transfer all the veggies to a blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Take out the sauce in a medium bowl; stir in paprika, sugar and basil leaves. Set aside.
  • Punch the dough and take out over a floured surface; knead for a few minutes and divide. Spread over the baking pan and cover with kitchen towel and let it rise for a few minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

MAKING

  • Spread sauce over the prepared dough sheet and top with cheese and desired toppings.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is browned.

SERVING

  • Slice the pizza and serve.

Notes

This recipe involves waiting time for allowing dough to proof. With instant rapid rise yeast, it takes only 30 minutes for the dough to rise.

A lot of time, I get questions like
Do I cook veggies before putting on pizza?
Image result for vegetarian pizza toppings ideas
Not pre-cooking your toppings
Because pizza cooks at such high temperatures, it’s tempting to just allow your toppings to cook directly on the crust. This is fine for most veggies, but never take the chance with meat. Make sure to cook all meats and even tougher veggies like broccoli ahead of time.

What vegetables are good on pizza?
Use your favorite or what you have on hand. Some other ideas include: zucchini or yellow squash, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, tomatoes or sun dried tomatoes, eggplant, greens (spinach, kale, or arugula). And I always finish my pizza with fresh basil, crushed red pepper flakes, and a little Parmesan cheese.

What goes first on pizza cheese or toppings?
In the pizza industry, in North America, most pizza places put cheese underneath toppings, unless the customer requests “extra cheese.” In that case, all the cheese is loaded on top of all the toppings. My personal preference is to layer cheese first and then toppings to show the colors of all the vegetables!
Below is the playlist of all pizza recipes I have shared on my youtube channel.