Oh yes..just give me a minute I will need to scold myself for rejecting many offers to bite one piece of this utterly DELICIOUS thing called ‘Pizza’ . Am late like forever in realising the heaven like taste that each bite of this amazing thing called Pizza gives you. Many a times during late working hours in office,colleagues used to give a weird smiling(or was it laughing) face to me as soon as I say NO to pizza.Certainly I missed all those melting GOOGEY OOGEY moments but then they say late is better then never..I have always been that traditional(did I say that again) girl eating my native foods(packed carefully) which ever part of the world I travel to but then being a food blogger I decided one day to break my cacoon and make up mind(and ofcourse stomach) to varieties of cuisine.More than the ‘yum’ factor I liked the ‘time’ factor in the concept of pizza..It is like a life saver when you don’t want to really cook up so much on a Friday evening or a lazy Saturday evening.
I have all the colorful vegetables,
I have that googey factor called grated Cheese to sprinkle on my Pizza..like the droplets of happiness sprinkled on my life..
All I need is a crust..the Pizza crust..
Thick like softy..spongy bed of goodness or thin layer of that crispiness..whichever way it is..I need a Pizza crust..
My life is sorted..Oh yes then this health factor..grrr…my weighing scale will get a jerk? it’s ok I can make my crust in any ‘HEALTHY’ form its my choice..
But then I need a crust for my Pizza..
Tuck in loads of fresh and colorful vegetables that you get from the farmer’s market..the tiny and shiny juicy bites of goodness called cherry tomatoes, the pale looking but soft and tasty button mushrooms..the colorful bell peppers..crunchy onions..oh those tangy and spicy jalapanos..ummmm..few juicy baby carrots and don’t neglect that YUM factor called CHEEEEEESE..and thats certainly fine we will reduce calories for the rest of the week.Lets enjoy this oogey oogey factor to the fullest for now! Again I need a crust!
Once you make your own crust at home, then there is seriously no going back! Simply eating..Lets make some curst ..note to self..DO NOT complete the frozen pizza dough before this FRIDAY..
I have used white flour alone to have some restuarant type feeling on a romantic weekend(did i just say that!) but feel free to try the recipe with whole wheat flour or a mix of both flours to get a toatally guilt free experience.You guys don’t ask me that..I can’t answer how much guilt I will need to hide now!
This amazing thing called Pizza crust can be frozen and used later whenever you feel like accepting the guilt..All I would look on a tired Friday evening is to cook a simple meal that satisfy my hunger pangs and my tired soul!
If you love a thick crust (Me Me) and you are ok with the with the whole white flour calorie thing, you will love this. Just wait and see the crust to be loaded with fresh vegetables and some cheeeeeeeese! Oh did I tell your some thing? My new little companion for all my life experiments..Awwwthese days! He is the one wakes me up.. makes me tired..makes me laugh and makes me cheerful..Want to see that smartness? Oh wait..you are already SCROLLING down..
He is my SIDDHU..my little fur ball..Okay you are allowed to KISS him now! Keep rocking peeps..Yes I did not forget to put up the recipe for Pizza Crust..I promise it’s at the end..XOXO
- 2 Cups Plain/All Purpose Flour
- 1.5 tbsp Yeast
- 1 Cup Warm water
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp Cornmeal
- Please remember one thing before starting with the recipe.Never over do or handle the dough hard .Always knead the dough gently and never press very firm with your fingers.
- In a mixing bowl, take warm water and stir in yeast.Allow it to settle down for a while until the yeast* turns foamy.Add flour,salt and sugars and knead the dough gently so to combine everything.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. If the dough is very wet add little flour or if it is dry add a little milk(optional) or little warm water.When you complete kneading test it by pressing with our finger. If your finger comes back clean then done else if its stick with dough then you need to knead it more by adding little flour.
- Roll the dough into a ball and coat it with some olive oil and wrap in a plastic cover and keep it in a warm place(about 75 F) until it doubles.This should take 1 hour and few minutes more.
- Now take the dough on to rolling surface or kitchen counter top and punch it with your fingers to release the air inside.Knead it once more gently to form a nice ball of dough again.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions and make balls out of it.using a rolling pin and by dusting with some flour flatten it into your desired size circles or 8 inch circles by stretching the dough wherever required.
- I used a round pan to give my pizza a good round shape.See the picture below. Then take out the extra bits of dough after cutting with the pan.
- Seal the edges of the dough with dough itself by folding a little bit .We don't want the pizza base or crust to be puff up so much.So take a tooth pick and make tiny holes on the pizza base.Allow it to rest for sometime.
- Meanwhile heat the oven to it maximum temperature for 20mins. Line the pizza trays with some corn flour as it keeps the dough not to stick to the pizza tray and also gives nice taste. Bake the pizza base or crusts for 8-10 min by turning in between.
- DO NOT OVER BAKE. The dough should just leave the sides.
- Allow them to cool down and you could freeze the crust at this point in a zip lock bag. You can take it out when you want to bake pizza just 30min ahead.
- Choose your favourite topping and make your own pizza at home! HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS!
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
Why my yeast didn’t rise?
Mixing warm water with yeast results in a foam formed rising of yeast which is called proofing of yeast. If it don’t rise after sometime then that could mean your yeast is no longer active and dead. Please use a new packet of active dry yeast.
Can I use any other cooking oil instead of olive oil?
You can but you will miss the taste of olive oil which has a prominent place in Italian cooking. and you know how famous is a word pizza in Italy! Try to use olive oil while making pizzas.
Why to use cornmeal and can I not use normal flour for dusting the pan?
Again I would say you will miss the taste of corn meal. Dusting the pan with corn meal makes your pizza to come out of the pan easily and also enhances the taste of the crust.You could use normal flour as well but try to stick to this recipe to taste a whole new world of Pizza!
Can I subsitite the white flour with wheat flour?
Well that’s my next experiment with the same recipe.You can give it a try.also you can mix both white and wheat flours too.
Do I really need a pizza tray to make this crust?
Keep it with you .I’ll tell you a tip.I used the base plates of my loose-based cake tins!One shot..Two birds!
Can this be frozen and used later?
YESS..you could freeze either the dough or the crust in zip lock covers.(I prefer BOTH).But I limit storing to a week for those unknown reasons! I just want to avoid any health risk.
BTW, what are your easy supper ideas?
Lovely post Siri, your hard work is reflected in every word. Very well done !
You never stop encouraging me with your sweet words Nupur! Thanks gal!
Hi Sireesha, Very interesting post and presentation..keep going with your wonderful work.. 🙂
Hey Thanks Rani, Glad you found it useful