PIZZA BASE (WITH YEAST)

 

Since I got the doughnuts (with yeast) right, I have overcome my fear of using yeast and naturally proceeded to make pizza.

So simple to make! What else can I say.

While we were eating it, I wondered why I spent so much moolah ordering Pizzas from Dominos (pizza aficionados may stick your noses up in the air, Skip and I love pizzas from Dominos) when one could just bake them at home.

The base is crunchy and chewy. If you don’t have yeast at home, you can make the No-Yeast Pizza base and if you don’t have an oven at home, you could try these Whole Wheat, Stove-top Pizzas. The base with yeast does taste the best but the others are great alternatives too.

I made a 6 inch Margherita for Skip and a large veggie one for Sky and me.  

We had a few slices left over. We heated it and ate it the next day, it still tasted great.

This recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction.

 

PIZZA BASE (WITH YEAST) ( MAKES TWO 12 INCH BASES)

Ingredients:

Warm water – 1 1/3 cups (320 ml)

Instant yeast – 2 ¼ tsp

Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt – 3/4 tsp

All-purpose flour – 3 ½ cups (450 gms)

Cornmeal – for dusting the pan

 

Method:

 

1.     Add the warm water, yeast and sugar to a bowl and whisk it well. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.

2.     The liquid will appear frothy after 5 minutes.

3.     To this, add oil, salt and the flour and mix it with a spatula till it comes together.

4.  On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes. ( The dough should remain soft).

5.    Grease a bowl and place the dough in it, covering it with the oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise.

6.     After 60-90 minutes , the dough would have doubled in size.

7.     Preheat oven to 250C for at least 15-20 mins.

8.  Shaping the dough : when  the dough has doubled up in size, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half (to make two pizza bases). Flour your work surface and flatten the dough with either a rolling pin or your hands. Pinch the edges of the base and poke holes in the base with a fork.

9.     Grease the baking dish and sprinkle cornmeal/semolina on it.

10. Place the base on the baking dish, brush the top lightly with oil and add your favourite toppings.

11. Bake the pizza for about 12-15 minutes until the bottom has browned.

12. Done.

 

Recipe Notes:

•      Preferable use Olive oil if you have it.
•       I didn’t have cornmeal so I used semolina for dusting.
•       Step 4: you know the dough is ready to rise when you poke it with your finger and it slowly bounces back. If it doesn’t, continue kneading. 
•      I tried using a rolling pin to shape the dough but found it easier using my hands to stretch the dough.

P.S: I still continue to order from Dominos. Let’s be honest here, it’s sometimes just easier  to order than cook at home.