For those who thought that baking a Pizza at home was hard-work, here is an easy recipe which can be made in a jiffy and without much sweat. You can experiment with a variety of flavours and toppings and stick to the topping which you fancy.
Come along……want to learn to make a ‘Pizza’; your very own home-made one ? ………then follow me J. This is one of the many recipes for ‘Pizza’ that I have in my repertoire..I will surely share the others with you too; each one special for sure.
There are four basic ingredients to any pizza; crust, sauce, cheese and toppings. You can have the crust thin or thick (I prefer the thick one), use the toppings of your choice and make the pizza sauce at home or get the ready-made bottled one; which will make your work all the more easier.
Ingredients :
For the Dough (for 1 large Pizza – serves 4-6) :
Plain Flour/Maida 1-1/2 cups
Yeast – 1 tablespoon
Milk (warm) ¼ cup
Water (warm) ¼ cup
Sugar -1/2 tablespoon
Salt – 3/4 teaspoon
Olive oil ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons for brushing
In a bowl add ¼ cup olive oil, sugar, salt and water. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and salt. In a cup add warm milk and put the yeast..stir and keep till it bubbles. Then add to the olive oil and sugar mixture. Add the flour and mix to get a smooth dough. Dab with a thin film of oil and keep in a bowl and cover the bowl with a wet cloth or with plastic wrap. Keep it for an hour or two till the dough doubles in size. Knead again and roll it to fit your Pizza Pan. Don’t make it too thin. Roll back the edges to get a small lip sized-wall at the edges.
Brush the Pizza pan with olive oil and keep the crust on it and leave it for 15-20 minutes for it to rise a bit. {If you don’t have a Pizza Pan, you can use one of your Aluminium vessel lid - wrap it with aluminium foil on the base and then use as a Pizza Pan).
I used a bottled Pizza Sauce (American Garden Brand); but you can make the Sauce at home by following the recipe below.
Pizza Sauce :
{Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic and ½ onion finely chopped. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Then add half capsicum –chopped into tiny bits. Then add 2 cups of tomatoes or 10 oz can of tomato puree, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano leaves. Add ¼ tablespoon of chilly flakes and ¼ teaspoon of sugar. Lower the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes till a thick sauce is formed…cool and use as your Pizza Sauce}.
Topping :
Capsicum – 1
Onion – 1 or 2
Tomato – 1 or 2
Baby corn
Sausages – 3-4
Mozzarella Cheese (grated) ½ cup
Parmesan Cheese (1 tin)
Oregano
Mushrooms
Olives – few
Paprika or red chillie powder
Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
When the crust has risen a little, sprinkle a little oregano powder on the base and spread a thick layer of pizza sauce. Arrange the topping over the sauce –capsicum rings, onion rings, mushrooms, olives, sausages, tomatoes and baby corn. Sprinkle with Paprika/Chillie powder, olive oil, and oregano leaves. Cover with a mixture of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Preheat oven to 200 deg. C and bake for 20-25 minutes till the base turns golden and cheese starts melting.
Cut into wedges with Pizza Cutter and serve hot.
