My son's pizza is all about a 'fusion'. A medley of olive oil, pizza sauce with an 'Indianish' touch, a mix of mozzarella and cheddar, fresh coriander leaves to flavour and chilly flakes to top for that 'Indianish heat'.
I had planned to bake and post this pizza when sweet punch announced the recipe for the same, from scratch, if I am not wrong, for the
month of April adapted from the celebrity blogger
The Pioneer Woman. I couldnt do the post then due to a serious ligament sprain followed by a 45 days' cast. Whatever attracted me to this immensely was that, a chance to try her foolproof 'crust' recipe and the flexibility regarding the choice of toppings!
I had made pizzas with this topping on a ready made pizza base so far, but ever since I tried this one a quarter ago, I have been baking this every month whenever my son is home from his school hostel. Every time he loves it all the more thus making me a contented mom!
Now, to start with ,we need to get ready with the ingredients for the pizza base.
2 cups of flour (I had halved the original recipe), olive oil, instant yeast, sugar and Kosher salt.
I knead along with my hands to a soft dough. Yes, it is sticky but the olive oil helps.Transfer to another bowl, as in the picture, which is smeared with olive oil, liberally.
Wrap and cover with cling film. Refrigerate at least for 24 hours. The dough ferments and stays good until 3 days if stored in a chiller than the regular refrigerator compartment. Choose where to store planning when to bake.
The dough which has risen more than double the size after 24 hours straight out of the fridge.
Peel off the film and
punch down the dough giving a gentle knead. It's extremely elastic and sticky at this point and you may smear fingers with olive oil again, to avoid any further sticking.
Halve the dough, spread gently on your oil smeared baking pan. Poke small holes as you see with the back of a spoon. Drizzle olive oil.
I mixed a spoon of
tomato-onion preserve with pizza topping for the sauce. A weird combination, but that's how he prefers!
As you see, I spread a layer on the flattened dough..
The cheese used here is
Brittannia cheeza, cheese for pizza, which is a combination of cheddar and mozzarella. Almost 70 gms was used up for one pizza.
Now, the turn for the flavorful Indian herb, freshly chopped coriander greens!
I sprinkled finely chopped mixture of garlic and shallots (a tsp altogether) with a final touch of chilly flakes for the 'Indian heat!'.
Bake in a preheated 500-degree oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden.. but not too brown.
Out of the oven!
It was HOT when I shot this.
Slice into wedges and serve warm. It turned out to be a little 'bready" rathen than a thin and crispy one this time but the boy loved it with lots of potato chips!
To have the recipe in one place...
Makes 4 large round crusts
1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast ( I used
DCL instant yeast )
4 cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons sugar (the actual recipe doesn't call for this)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
To make the Crust
Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.
It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.
The Topping
(not from Pioneer Woman)
When you are ready to bake the pizza, take out the prepared dough from the refrigerator.Remove the film and punch down the raised dough. Give it a gentle knead with oil smeared fingers.
Divide the dough and flatten one portion on olive oil smeared baking pan. Let it be as thin as possible may be with slightly thicker edges. The dough will be very sticky and elastic but you can manage with oil coated fingers.
Top it with pizza sauce of your choice, followed by the cheese/cheeses and herbs you prefer.
Bake in a preheated 500-degree oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden.. but not too brown
Remove from the pan after it cools down a bit, carefully on a flat surface.
Slice into wedges and serve warm!
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