WOYP Day #63 2- ingredient Pizza Dough

I have simply lost count on the number of times I’ve made pizzas and burgers at home since March..since the time we’ve all been confined to our homes! We do order Pizza on occasion but for most part I’ve been whipping up different kinds of dough to keep my boys happy and go mmmm..that’s delicious pizza :D Dramatic indeed, but that’s what keeps my kitchen running..haha! 

Whole wheat pizza dough rates first but that does involve yeast and proofing the dough, and takes time, so when I’m in a rush I make this 2 ingredient Pizza dough. Yes you heard it right, all you need is simply 2 ingredients - Self Rising flour and plain Greek yoghurt!

 
It makes the most amazing thin crust pizzas, dough is ready in 8-10 minutes and the pizza bakes in 13-15 minutes so scrumptious pizzas are ready to dig into in less than 30 minutes!! That’s always a winner in the kitchen. This recipe has been around for years so I can't take credit for it, I did tweak the measurements though. 

Self Rising flour is flour that has salt and baking powder already added to it. If you are unable to buy it now where you live, you can make some by measuring out 1 cup All-purpose flour. To this add 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder and 1/2 tsp Salt. Stir to combine and use as needed. 

2-ingredient Pizza dough
You will need:

1 cup Plain Greek yoghurt (full-fat, fat free, 1%, anything works!)
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups Self rising Flour

Pizza sauce
Pizza toppings of choice 
Grated cheese
  
Tools:

1 large baking sheet
Cooking oil
Pastry brush

In a large bowl, add the greek yoghurt and 1 1/2 cups self rising flour. Using a wooden spatula or silicon spatula combine to form a soft slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If the dough feels very sticky add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it forms a firmer dough. Knead the dough for a minute gently to form a soft ball of dough. 

 That’s it! The dough is ready to roll out and bake!!

Preheat oven to 425F.

Using a pastry brush generously grease the baking pan with oil. Oil helps crisp up the dough as well as in easy removal from the baking pan. Normally I use Semolina but with this dough oil works best. So don’t skip that!

Divide the dough into 4 portions. Roll out each piece into a thin circle. At this point any shape is fine!! Don’t stress over the circles. I was able to make two pizzas at the same time on one sheet.

Spread pizza sauce (I use a combination of marinara & ketchup). Spread a layer of grated Mozzarella or any pizza cheese of your choice. Top with veggies - I used thinly sliced onions, mini sweet peppers, green bell pepper and thinly sliced baby corn (canned), and some yellow corn too since the kids insisted! :D Spread little more cheese on top, a generous sprinkle of oregano and chili flakes. 

Place in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edges are nice and crisp. Baking time depends on your oven so keep an eye after 12 minutes.

Remove from oven, slice and serve!! 

  
The quickest pizza you will ever make and eat and the best part is its not frozen!! 

What's on Your Plate? Day #12 Paneer Pataka Pizza

My boys and I love Pizzas and much that I like how luxurious Pizzas feel in the US (I don't think anyone has described Pizzas this way! :D) I still miss the Pizzas back home in India. The spicy flavors,topping options and the lack of loads of cheese (haha!) kinda make it special. One such is the Paneer Pataka Pizza. "Pataka" meaning fire cracker essentially relating to the 'burst' of flavors in this Pizza. The bonus with this recipe is the dough is home-made and its made with whole wheat flour so the Pizza is light, yet flavorful and makes for guilt free indulgence. 

For the Pizza dough:
You will need:

1 1/4 cups wheat flour
1 tsp Active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water + 1/4 cup water
1 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Combine yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup warm water. Make sure it is good yeast (not expired or old). Set aside for 10 minutes. The yeast will proof and foam up. That is a good sign of active yeast.

In a medium bowl, whisk the proofed yeast, salt and olive oil. Add the wheat flour to it and 1/4 cup water, combine to form a soft dough. Transfer dough to countertop and knead for a minute or two until the dough is soft, smooth and pliable. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1.5-2 hours in a warm place.

Toppings:

Paneer Marinade:

1/2 cup small cubed Paneer
 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Crushed Kasuthi methi
1/4 tsp Chaat masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Salt

Combine the above ingredients and set aside for 30 minutes.

Pizza sauce ( marinara and tomato ketchup combined)
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 onion thinly sliced
Red/green bell peppers cut into small pieces
Red chili flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup canned yellow corn, drained
Olive oil as needed

Few tablespoons Semolina

Large baking sheet

Assembly: 

 

Preheat oven to 400F or 200C. 

After dough has doubled in size, punch it lightly to release air bubbles if any. Divide the dough into 4. Roll one into a thin circle and crimp the edges all around to form the side of the crust. Poke the dough in several places with a fork in several places. This is called docking the dough,it prevents the dough from puffing up while baking.

Sprinkle Semolina (Rava) on a large baking sheet. Semolina prevents the dough from sticking to the pan and also helps in yielding a crispier crust. Transfer rolled dough onto the baking sheet and then add toppings. Don’t forget this step since its a mess trying to move an assembled pizza. 

Drizzle some olive oil on the pizza base and spread evenly with the back of a spoon or a pastry brush. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of pizza sauce. Top with grated mozzarella. Add the toppings and arrange as needed - bell peppers, onions, corn and a few pieces of the marinated Paneer.  Top with more cheese and sprinkle a pinch of Oregano and chili flakes to taste.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until cheese has melted and the base is done.

Slice and serve!!

White Pizza

I often make pizzas at home and when I don’t have time to make my own pizza dough, I use the store bought pizza crust. It works just as well.

My hubby and I both enjoy pizzas with lots of cheese. :-D But when we order a take-out or delivery, it really is very greasy and makes us very guilty later. Making pizzas at home, lets me control what goes into the pizzas…we get to indulge, but on our terms.

Pizzas usually come with a tomato based sauce, to make something different I chose to use Ricotta cheese.

White Pizza:

Adapted from Rachel Ray’s recipe

1 store bought pizza dough

Extra- virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1 ½ cups part skim Ricotta

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Onion, thinly sliced

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 tsp Red Chilli flakes

1 sp Dried Basil

Salt and Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Stretch pizza dough on a baking sheet or pizza pan to form a pie. Pierce the dough with the tines of a fork in several places. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil around the crust. Mix the ricotta cheese, chilli flakes, garlic, salt and black pepper. Taste the mixture at this point and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Spread the ricotta evenly across the dough. Top the pizza with the sliced onions and the mozzarella. Bake until crispy, 20 minutes. Top the white pizza pie with the dried basil and serve.

The Ricotta ‘sauce’ base was very different and the garlic packed a punch to it. I’m glad we tried this one.

Calzones

In my last post about Mini Pizzas I had mentioned that I used half the pizza dough to make two fully loaded calzones.

The recipe for the Calzones is from the book “The best ever Vegetarian Cookbook" by Linda Fraser.I used the delicious and surprisingly tasty Eggplant filling as a topping for one of the pizzas too.

Here's the recipe for the pizza dough and the calzones.

You will need:

For the dough:

1 packet (7g/ ¼ oz) active dry yeast
2 ½ to 3 cups All purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm water (110 F)

For the filling:

4 Baby eggplants cubed
3 Shallots chopped
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Crushed red pepper
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
10 Sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 Garlic clove chopped

Shredded Mozarella
1-2 tbsp Shredded Parmesan

The method to make the Pizza dough can be found here.

Prepare filling -- Heat oil in a pan. Add shallots and fry till soft. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, garlic, thyme, crushed pepper, salt and black pepper. Saute for a a few seconds. Now add the cubed eggplant and sauté till soft. Turn off heat and let cool a little.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and form into 2 balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into 2 8-inch circles

Place eggplant shallot tomato filling in the center of one side of each circle, top with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella then fold dough over filling to meet edges of filled side. Crimp edges with a fork or your fingers, then cut a small slit on the top of the calzone to allow steam to escape while cooking. Bake for 8-10 minutes till light brown. Remove from the oven and brush calzones with a layer of olive oil. Sprinkle shredded parmesan on top and serve immediately.

Since these Calzones were so big, they lasted me a good two days! :-D They just got better and better!!

Mini Pizzas

I've made Pizza dough once before and it turned out great. I decided to make it again, but this time used half of it to make Calzones and other half to make Mini Pizzas. Given here is the recipe for the pizza dough and mini pizzas.

You will need:

For the dough:
1 packet (7g/ ¼ oz) active dry yeast
2 ½ to 3 cups All purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm water (110 F)

For the filling:
4 Baby eggplants cubed
3 Shallots chopped
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Crushed red pepper
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
10 Sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 Garlic clove chopped

The method to make the Pizza dough can be found here.

Prepare filling -- Heat oil in a pan. Add shallots and fry till soft. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, garlic, thyme, crushed pepper, salt and black pepper. Saute for a a few seconds. Now add the cubed eggplant and sauté till soft. Turn off heat and let cool a little.

Preheat oven to 450F.

I used half of the pizza dough to make 3 mini Pizzas and the other half to make 2 big calzones. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and freeze one half if not using immediately.

Mini Pizzas

Tomato and Basil Pizza

Cheese Pizza

Eggplant Pizza

To assemble Pizzas you will need:

Marinara sauce
1 Tomato chopped
Egpplant filling (recipe above)
Chopped fresh Basil leaves
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1 Cup Sharp Cheddar shredded
1 Cup Mexican blend (or any cheese of your choice)

Divide the other half of dough into 3 equal portions. Shape into round balls, place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into four 4-inch circles.

Poke the pizza circles with a fork in several places and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. This enhances the flavours you build on top. Now top each circle with marinara sauce. Spread evenly. Dot one with chopped tomatoes and basil leaves. Cover with shredded Mozarella. Dot another circle with the eggplant filling and cover with Mexican blend cheese. Top the last one with only cheddar cheese.

Pizzas are meant to please the palette with favourite flavours so feel free to add toppings of your choice. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes till cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve immediately.

I will share the recipe for the Calzones in my next post. Till then enjoy these Mini Pizzas!!

It’s Pizza time…..no take out!

Pizza…loaded with veggies and oodles of gooey cheese…hmmmm...bliss!

As kids, my brother and I loved Pizzas, and we often used to beg mom to order some. Back then, in Mysore, Pizza was definitely pricey and not a commoner’s food. There was only one Pizza place called “US Pizza” and whenever that place had a ‘eat unlimited’ offer, my brother and I were there in the blink of an eye. Mom used to make Pizzas at home too, but we still craved Pizza from outside. She used the ready Pizza bases available at ‘Nilgiris’ super market. As we grew up, time of course changed and my brother and I both visited Bangalore often which gave us a chance to pig out on pizza at the hundred and one pizza places. Pizza Hut Pizza rocked, and was a favourite and still remains even after I came to the US. I must say here they are more generous with the cheese than back in India. Hubby loves cheese too, so its always pizza with tons of cheese on top!

I crave for Pizza more often than I should, and take out every time means leftovers as well as $$$! So I decided to make my own pizza dough as well the pizza at home. This was the first time I made the dough.

Pizza dough

1 package active dry yeast (7gm/ 1/4 oz)
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour, plus more if necessary
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, combine yeast with water, salt and stir well .After 5 minutes, transfer to the bowl of a food processor along with flour, salt, and olive oil and process until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour and process for another minute.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead dough for 2 to 3 minutes, adding enough additional flour if necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough. Dough should not be sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 or 3 quart bowl and turn to coat dough with oil.

Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Divide dough into 2 portions (for 2 (12-inch) pizzas) and form into balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of 1/2-inch.Transfer to a pizza pan and bake for 4-5 minutes. Remove and add choice of toppings.

Pizza

You can use any choice of toppings for your pizza. I wanted to recreate the Veggie Supreme version from Pizza Hut, hence used the following toppings.

You will need: (for 2 pizzas)

1 Cup Onions (cubed)

1 Cup Tomatoes (chopped)

1 Cup Green Bell Peppers (cubed)

¾ Cup Mushrooms (sliced)

¾ Cup Babycorn (sliced)

2 Cups Marinara sauce

2 Cups Mozzarella cheese (grated)

Pour 2-3 ladles of marinara sauce on the pizza base and spread evenly.

Top with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms and babycorn. Top with a generous handfuls of grated mozzarella.

Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes, keep a close watch, cheese may burn if your oven has a high cooking power.

Cut into slices with a Pizza cutter and serve…err… gobble up! :)