Home made Pizza

Do you like to order pizzas on weekends / game nights? Did you know that pizza baking is easy and can be a fun-filled family activity.

I have used 50-50 all purpose flour (maida) and whole wheat flour (atta).

You can use  both the flours in any proportion, use any one if them. It's very flexible. Only thing you have to keep in mind is that water quantity will increase with the increase in whole wheat flour. I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of enough water in the dough. The dough should feel sticky when you start kneading it. Don't be tempted to add more flour. Instead oil your hands and knead. This way incorporate all the oil mentioned in the recipe.

I have used instant yeast but you can also use dry active yeast. For that take tepid warm water (2 tbsp) in a bowl. Mix in sugar. Sprinkle yeast. Mix well. Let it sit for 10 minutes. It should bloom .Add this to the autolysed dough and procceed.

This recipe gives you approximately 930 gms of dough. An 8" thin crust will need 150 gms if dough where as a thick crust would need 200-250 gms of dough. Now do your maths and divide your dough.

I often do a 10" thick crust where I use 400 gms of dough.

Make the pizza sauce a day in advance . Collect the toppings that you would like.

You can try

• Bell Peppers

• Corn

• Zucchini

• Paneer

• Sundried Tomatoes

• Tomatoes

• Onions

• Capsicum

• Pineapple

Ingredients

Wwf 250 gms

Apf 250 gms

Water 400 ml

Mixed herbs 1 tbsp

Garlic pd 2 tsp

Salt 1.5 tsp

Oil 2 tbsp

Sugar  2 tsp

Yeast 1/2 tsp

Oil for greasing the pan

Method.

1. Mix both the flours in a bowl.

2. Add water little by little till there is no dry flour and it's all mixed well.

3. Do not knead .

4. Cover and leave it for  1 hour.

5. This process of mixing flour and dough and letting it rest for sometime is called autolyse.

6. This helps in developing gluten and relaxing the dough. Which in turn reduces kneading time.

7. Now tranfer the dough to clean counter top.

8. Add sugar and yeast.

9. Mix it well.

10. Sprinkle salt all over the dough and start kneading.

11. If you find the dough is tight add one tbsp water at a time and continue keading.

12. The dough should feel very sticky.

13. Knead using the heel of your palms.

14. Push the dough outward , then fold it back, rotate it a little and push again.

15. Incorporate the oil slowly while kneading.

16. Knead for good 12-15 minutes.

17. Slowly you will see that the dough has turned smooth  and is not sticking to your hands.

18. The dough would become smooth and supple like baby's bums.

19. Now grease a bowl or container.

20. I prefer a flat bottom pan or container with straight sides.

21. Transfer the dough in the container, turn it over so that it's covered with oil.

22. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap.

23. Mark the container with a marker.

24. This will help you know when the dough has doubled.

25. It will take anywhere between an hour to two to double in size depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

26. Turn the dough over lightly floured  counter top.

27. Press it with light hands to release all gas.

28. Divide it into portions depending on your pan size and whether you want thick crust or thin crust.

29. Roll the portions of dough into balls and cover them with cling film and let them rest for 10 minutes.

30. Take one ball at a time and roll it using a rolling pin.

31. Place it on a greased baking pan.

Now there are three options:

First Option

1. Apply pizza sauce, sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese.

2. Place toppings of your choice.

3. Place in a preheated oven at 250 degrees Celsius.

4. Bake for 12-15  minutes, till the sides turn golden.

5. Take it out.

6. Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella.

7. Sprinkle pizza seasoning, chili flakes. Place fresh basil leaves dipped in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

8. Put it back in the oven for 2-3 minutes till cheese melts.

9. Serve immediately.

Second Option

1. Prick the rolled dough with fork.

2. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes.

3. From here proceed with option one but bake for a shorter duration.

Third Option

1. Prick the rolled dough with fork.

2. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 8-10 minutes.

3. Remove the ready Pizza base.

4. Similarly you can make remaining pizza bases.

5. Cool them completely.

6. Make pizza whenever you want.

7. Follow option one but bake for a shorter duration.

8. These pizza bases will stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature.

9. You can also freeze them.

10. Thaw them and proceed with option one.