BASIC PIZZA DOUGH AND TOPPINGS
This basic pizza dough is perfect for those who have never made dough before. It is quick to prepare, easy to roll out, can be chilled or frozen for later use and can be used for more than just pizza!
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
11g instant yeast (1 small packet or 2 and 1/4 teaspoon)
1 cup water, room temperature
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (alternatively, you can use 1 tablespoon of dry basil)
Toppings:
100g shredded mozzarella cheese
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup of mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup black olives
1 onion, chopped
Pepperoni slices
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 250°C and spray your pizza pan with cooking oil, setting it aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water and sugar stirring to dissolve, then let it rest for about 15 minutes until the yeast blooms.
3. Once the yeast has bloomed, add 1 cup of flour and salt and stir. Then add another cup of flour and stir until combined and forms a dough.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a floured surface working in the last cup of flour as needed, until the dough is elastic but does not stick to your fingers.
5. Form dough into a ball and place in another bowl.
6. Coat the ball of dough with the tablespoon of olive oil, then cover with towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.
7. Remove towel and punch the dough right through the middle, then take it out and knead on a floured surface.
8. Depending on the preferred thickness of your pizza, you may choose to divide your dough to make two medium thin-crust pizzas (even storing half of it in the refrigerator for later use), or you may choose to use the entire quantity for a thicker crust pizza.
9. In any case, spread the dough into the pan, moving it around and adjusting it with your fingers.
10. For the sauce, combine tomato puree, tomato paste, garlic and basil and then spread it over the pizza dough.
11. Finally, top it with cheese followed with all other toppings, and bake for 12 minutes.
Notes:
You can have any toppings you prefer for your pizza or keep it simple with a basic cheese topping.
The thing about this dough is that I found I can use it to make a variety of different things as well, such as the popular Arabic mana’eesh topped with thyme (zaatar), cheese or beef.
As mentioned above, this dough yields one whole thick-crusted pizza. Alternatively, you can divide the dough into two and store half the portion in the refrigerator by covering it really well in plastic wrap for later use. It can last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Or you could use both halves to make two different kinds of thin-crusted pizzas.
