Appreciation post to our amazing organizers for planning a pizza night for us and to our Italian friends for showing us all the secrets. ;)
Friendly reminder: every time you put pinapple on your pizza, an Italian dies somewhere in the world. So NEVER do that. Never put pinapple on pizza.
The recipe is really simple:
1 kg flour
26 gr salt (a tablepoon)
30 ml olive oil
10 gr yeast
600 ml water
Most pizza doughs are made from vegan ingredients. Yeast is vegan, white flour is vegan, and water, so you are all good.
STEP 1: COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl or the bowl whisk together the flour and the salt. Make a small hole in the middle of the flour and stir together olive oil and activated yeast. Add the water gradually to the dough while stirring. Feel free to use your hands ;)
STEP 2: KNEADING FOR 5 MINUTES
Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes to form a soft and elastic dough, as seen in the picture below. If you work the dough by hand, flour your hand with all-purpose flour and lightly flour the surface to prevent the dough from sticking.
STEP 3: RISE UNTIL DOUBLED IN SIZE
The dough is ready when it’s soft and elastic and if you push a finger in the dough, it bounces back – it doesn’t stick to your finger.
At this point, transfer the vegan pizza dough to an oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap to seal.
Then, add a towel on top of the bowl to keep the dough warm.
Place the bowl in a warm place – I like to preheat the oven to 110°F (45°C) and place the bowl in a warm oven to raise the dough faster.
STEP 4: KNEADING FOR 2 MINUTES
When the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a floured surface, punch dough to deflate, and knead for 2 minutes.
STEP 5: ROLLING
Divide the dough into balls of the same size. One ball serves one pizza base.
Use a rolling pin to roll the pizza dough into a 10-inch diameter for a thin crust or 8 inches for a thicker crust.
Transfer the rolled dough onto a piece of parchment paper and add the toppings you love – see note below for options.
Bake the pizza at (220°C) on a pizza stone or baking sheet in the center rack of the oven.
SAUCE
First, spread a sauce on the unbaked rolled pizza dough. It can be:
Pizza sauce
Homemade vegan pesto or store-bought vegan pesto made of vegan parmesan.
Hummus
Marinara sauce
BBQ sauce
Vegan coconut yogurt or vegan sour cream for a vegan white pizza base.
VEGETABLES
Then, add some flat toppings like:
Baby spinach leaves
Zucchini slices
Mushroom slices
Corn
Sundried tomatoes
Fresh basil
Ruccola
PLANT-BASED PROTEINS
Now, add some vegan proteins like:
Beyond Meat Chunks
Canned Black Beans
Canned Chickpeas
Vegan Nuggets Bites – even frozen unthawed!
Taco Lentil Meat
Sofritas – yes, tofu scramble tastes amazing on a pizza!
VEGAN CHEESES
This is optional, but there are so many absolutely delicious plant-based cheese available on the market that you should add some!
Enjoy!!!