Pizza with perfect crust

Though I have posted few pizza recipes earlier, getting a perfect crust recipe  was always in my 'to learn' list.  My hubby is a person who will  eat only the best of the best and so his reviews have made me improve my cooking skills since the day we got married :) So I try, try and try, till I get the best version in all my recipes. If he has approved it then it becomes my 'blog worthy' recipe :)

I prepared this pizza last Friday evening for dinner. It resulted in a 'large size pizza'.  In my view , it would be more than enough for 2 people. As always we shared our weekend special meal with our neighbor aunty and we all loved it very much.  After many of my pizza attempts, this is the one, my  hubby dear love the best :) So I am sure this is recipe is a keeper. Anyways, after finishing that he said that, "next time just make a cheese pizza  ...ok :) too much veggies :) ". 😀😀😀😀😀 

I love this recipe very much. So I am narrating this post as a best medium-thick crust pizza (not too thin and not too thick, just like the way we love it).
Here in this recipe I have made the crust like a bread dough (rising the dough twice) and I think that's the secret behind the uniformly successful ones.
I prepared the dough using a 'kitchenaid stand mixer' and I am sure hand kneading also would bring closer results.
Also , always be careful on  the 'lukewarm water'  temperature. The yeast should froth within 10 minutes.  Keep in mind to use the yeast within 2  months after purchase and keep it refrigerated always. If the 'proofing of yeast' is successful, then the baking would be definitely successful.

Homemade pizza slice

Vegetable toppings 

Ingredients

Sauce I made for pizza

Before the yeast rises

After 10 minutes of yeast proofing.

Kneading the dough

The pizza dough 

After 1 hour of rising

After second rising

Flatten the dough to pizza shape

Bake for 5 minutes

Apply sauce

Add toppings

Add cheese

Baked pizza

Pizza crust:
lukewarm water  - 1/2 cup
olive oil  - 3 tbsp
1 sachet active dry yeast (1.5 tablespoon approximately) 
salt - 1 tsp
sugar - 2 tsp
All purpose flour - 2 1/2 to 2 3/4  cups
garlic powder - 1 tsp

Method:
Microwave the water for 10 seconds (0r) just get the warm water from tap.
Add the  oil, yeast, salt, sugar and keep it for 10 minutes.
It will become frothy.
Mix this with flour and garlic powder.
Knead to make a soft dough. We can knead the dough in a kitchenaid mixer. Use the dough hook and keep the speed at 4 or 5.
Coat the dough with little oil and cover with a damp cloth. Keep it in a tight vessel and keep it for 1 hour inside a warm place (I preheat oven to 150 F for 5 minutes).
Let it raise for 1 hour. After 1 hour , the dough will triple in volume.
Punch and knead again. Keep it to raise again for one more hour.
Now also the dough will raise.
This is the perfect pizza dough. We can prepare the dough and keep it in fridge for 1 or 2 days or we can use it immediately.

Sauce:
tomato puree (from can) - 1/4 cup
sugar - 1 tbsp
hot sauce - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
Italian seasoning - 1 tbsp
garlic powder - 1 tsp
crushed red pepper - a pinch
fresh basil leaf - handful (chopped)

Mix this in a bowl and keep aside. Or just use a 1/2  cup of store bought sauce. My neighbor aunty would add tomato ketchup + hot sauce + seasonings only. 

Pizza topping:
Shredded mozzarella cheese - 1 /2cup
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
red onion - 1/2 (sliced thinly)
red capsicum - 1/4 cut in to small pieces
Jalapeno pepper - 1/2
pickled yellow pepper - 1
olives - few
  
Slice and keep the vegetables ready.

How to bake a pizza?
Preheat the oven to 375 F for 10 minutes before we start baking.
Pizza chefs know a lot of skills to prepare a flat bread. But I have only one trick. I just place the dough on a pizza baking tray and flatten it using a rolling pin or by hand.
Then apply a little oil over the flattened dough., spread it. Using a fork prick a few times all around.
Bake it at 375 F for 5 minutes.
Take it out.
Spread the prepared pizza sauce.
Spread the prepared toppings and cheese.
Bake at 375 F for 12 - 15 minutes, until fully cooked,

Take out. Slice and enjoy while it is hot.

Garden Pizza

We both love pizza very much , that too for the weekend dinner.This Garden pizza is a vegetarian pizza , which is not only easy to make but also tastes great.I got my inspiration to do this while we had a similar kind of pizza in a restaurant called Culpeppers in O'Fallon, Missouri. Onion rings or french fries and a soda will make your dinner a complete one.

Happy Independence Day.

Pizza base:
1/4 cup warm water
3 spoon vegetable oil
1 sachet dry yeast (1.5 tablespoon approximately)
1 teaspoon salt.
1 teaspoon sugar
2 small cups of all purpose flour(just enough to make 4 normal chapathi )

mix water oil,yeast,salt,sugar and keep it for 10 minutes.
mix with flour
make a chapathi dough
cover it in a tight vessel and keep it for 1 hour inside oven(not hot).

Sauce:
Ragu sauce(old world style)- 1/2 cup

Pizza topping:
Shredded mozzerella cheese - 1 cup
tomato sauce 1 spoon, chilli sauce 1/2 spoon
1/4 red onion - cut in to small pieces
capsicum - 1/4 cut in to small pieces
mushroom -6 cut into big pieces
black olive fruit -3 cut in to two.

mix every thing except cheese and add salt to taste.
keep it aside for 1 hour or you can prepare it at your leisure time, keep it inside fridge for future use.

Pizza procedure:

Take the dough and roll into a big size chapathi of thickness 1 inch.
place it on the flat baking tray.
put a little oil over the flattened dough.
Spread the ragu sauce.
then spread the topping.
Above the topping spread cheese.

heat oven to 425 F (220 C) . place the pizza in the middle rack and bake it for 15- 18 minutes.
serve hot with tomato sauce , onion rings / french fries and any soda.