Home-made Pizza
There is no such Italian who is not able to prepare home-made pizza. Pizza in Italy is no finger food. Pizza making is an art and pizzerias with traditional stone ovens are places of delight. However, every household has at least one parent who enjoys baking pizza on a Sunday. Picking the toppings is one of the pleasures of this rite.
The most common vegetable toppings include black olives, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, corn, bell peppers, zucchini, fresh rocket, and mushrooms. The list can go on and on!
If you like the meaty type, try vegan pepperoni slices or sausage.
Even if vegan options are out there (even from takeaway restaurants), a fragrant, home-baked pizza is simply not comparable. And, it’s easier than you think, even with a common ventilated oven!
Here’s how I prepared the last vegan pizza.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 bag yeast for pizza
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the topping:
- 5-6 spoons tomato sauce
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 plum tomato
- Salt, to taste
- Olive oil spray
- Non-dairy cheese (similar to goat cheese)
- Non-dairy mozzarella shreds
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 100 degrees for 5 minutes and then turn it off. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. In a glass, pour the content of a yeast bag and the sugar. Add 3-5 spoons of warm water and stir well. The warmth and the sugar will activate the yeast. Add a cup of warm water to the flour, and then add the content of the glass. Start mixing water and flour with a wooden spoon. when it starts to become more solid, spread some flour on your hands and start to knead the dough into a smooth ball. Sprinkle with some more flour and put into the oven to rest for 30-45 minutes.
While you wait, prepare the vegetables for the topping.
Rinse the broccoli, bell pepper, tomato, and zucchini. Clean the pepper and slice it into thin strips. Cut off the ends of the zucchini and, with a knife, slice it as thinly as you can. Cut off the broccoli florets and steam them for 10 minutes.
In an oiled grilling pan, lightly grill the zucchini and pepper strips. Sprinkle with salt and oil to keep them soft and set aside.
Finally, slice the tomato and the cheese.
When the dough has risen, take it out of the oven. It should now be at least double the original size. Spread some flour on the bottom of the pizza pan and transfer the dough to it. Spread the dough to cover its entire size. make sure you leave a slightly higher edge, to contain the tomato sauce.
Spread the tomato sauce on its surface and place the toppings to your taste. Add some non-dairy mozzarella shreds to finish.
Put into the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. When it’s well cooked, take it off the oven and enjoy!
Your pizza will keep for a couple of days if refrigerated… but I doubt there will be any left!
