Homemade Vegetable Pizza
Sure, you can buy ready-made pizza dough, but often it contains quite a bit of fat and sometimes it’s hydrogenated. This dough is an easy, no-hassle alternative. It takes about five minutes to put together in the food processor, and it’s easy to stretch or roll out. The dough recipe makes enough for two 14-inch pizzas (or three very thin 10- to 12-inch pizzas). You can roll all of it out and freeze what you don’t use, so long as it’s wrapped airtight.
Yield
12 servingsPrep
15 minCook
30 minReady
45 minIngredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| For the dough | |||
| 2 | teaspoons |
yeast, active dry
|
|
| 1 | cup |
water
warm |
|
| 1 | teaspoon |
sugar
|
|
| 1 | tablespoon |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| 3 | cups |
unbleached all-purpose flour
may substitute 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the white flour |
|
| 1 ¼ | teaspoons |
salt
|
|
| For each pizza | |||
| 1 | tablespoon |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| 1 | teaspoon |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| ½ | cup |
tomato sauce
fresh, or a good prepared marinara sauce |
|
| 4 | ounces |
mozzarella cheese
thinly sliced |
|
| Optional | |||
| 3 | each |
tomatoes
Thinly sliced (2 or 3, preferably Romas) |
|
| 1 | each |
red onion
Sliced, rinsed with cold water and patted dry |
|
|
green bell peppers
or red |
*
|
||
|
mushrooms
sliced |
*
|
||
|
olives
pitted |
*
|
||
Ingredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| For the dough: | |||
| 1E+1 | ml |
yeast, active dry
|
|
| 237 | ml |
water
warm |
|
| 5 | ml |
sugar
|
|
| 15 | ml |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| 7.1E+2 | ml |
unbleached all-purpose flour
may substitute 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the white flour |
|
| 6.3 | ml |
salt
|
|
| For each pizza: | |||
| 15 | ml |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| 5 | ml |
olive oil, extra-virgin
|
|
| 118 | ml |
tomato sauce
fresh, or a good prepared marinara sauce |
|
| 115.6 | ml/g |
mozzarella cheese
thinly sliced |
|
| Optional | |||
| 3 | each |
tomatoes
Thinly sliced (2 or 3, preferably Romas) |
|
| 1 | each |
red onion
Sliced, rinsed with cold water and patted dry |
|
| 1 | x |
green bell peppers
or red |
*
|
| 1 | x |
mushrooms
sliced |
*
|
| 1 | x |
olives
pitted |
*
|
Directions
Mix together the yeast, sugar, water and olive oil in a small bowl or measuring cup until the yeast is completely dissolved. Let stand for a few minutes.
Place 2 ¾ cups flour and the salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Pulse once or twice.
With with the machine running, pour in the yeast mixture.
Process until the dough forms a ball on the blades.
Remove from the processor, and knead on a lightly floured surface for a couple of minutes, adding flour as necessary for a smooth dough.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave it in a warm spot to rise for one hour.
The dough will have nearly doubled in bulk and will stretch as it is gently pulled.
Divide the dough into two equal balls.
Roll each ball around on your work surface under the palm of your hand until the ball feels smooth and firm, about one minute.
If the dough is sticky, brush the work surface with a little bit of olive oil.
Put the dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cover with pan-sprayed plastic wrap or a damp towel, and leave to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
Place a pizza stone, if you have one, on the middle rack of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a 12 to 14-inch pizza pan, and dust with semolina or fine cornmeal.
Roll or press out the dough to fit the pizza pan, and line it.
With your fingers, form a slightly thicker raised rim around edge of the circle. Brush everything but the rim with one teaspoon olive oil.
Use a rubber spatula to spread the tomato sauce over the pizza in an even layer.
Top with thin slices of mozzarella.
Arrange any of the additional toppings on top.
Drizzle the pizza with a tablespoon of olive oil.
Place the pizza pan on the stone in the hot oven.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is brown and the cheese bubbling and lightly browned in spots.
Remove from the heat, cut into wedges (I use kitchen scissors for this) and serve.
