Whole wheat Veg Pizza

Whole wheat Veg Pizza

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INGREDIENTS

For pizza dough:

3 cups whole wheat flour/atta, 360 grams
1 to 1.25 cups water or add as required
1.5 tsp instant yeast or 2 tsp dry active yeast
¼ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
some whole wheat flour for dusting

For tomato pizza sauce:

3 medium to large tomatoes, pureed - yields approx 1.5 to 2 cups of tomato puree, thetomatoes also can be blanched and chopped or crushed.
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 to 1.5 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 to 1.5 tsp dry basil
1 to 1.5 tsp dry oregano or 1 to 1.5 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp red wine (optional)
¼ tsp black pepper or add as required
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper as required

For pizza toppings:

6 to 8 tbsp pizza sauce
1 small to medium onion, chopped in ½ inch squares
1 small to medium bell pepper, chopped in ½ inch squares
1 small to medium tomato, chopped ½ inch squares
6 to 7 chopped buttons mushrooms, sauteed in 1 tsp oil (optional)
7 to 8 olives, chopped (optional)
¼ to ⅓ cup steamed corn kernels or tinned corn (optional)
½ to ⅔ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or as required
some olive oil for brushing
whole wheat flour, semolina or cornmeal for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparing pizza dough:

• Take 1 cup water in a mixing bowl and lightly warm it. just warm and not hot. the temperature should be around 40 to 43 degrees celsius.
• then add ¼ tsp sugar and stir so that the sugar dissolves.
• add 1.5 tsp instant yeast.
• stir so that the yeast dissolves. if using dry active yeast, then add 2 tsp of it. stir and keep covered for 10 to 15 minutes till the mixture has frothed and bubbled up. here since we have used instant yeast, we don't need to proof the solution and proceed tothe next step immediately after stirring the yeast.
• add 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tbsp olive oil and ¼ tsp salt. for dry active yeast, add the flour, olive oil and salt after the yeast solution has bubbled. mix everything with aspoon or spatula.
• then add 1 cup of flour. again mix.
• lastly add remaining 1 cup flour and continue to mix and then begin to knead.
• For ease of kneading, i divided the dough into two parts and kneaded both of them separately.
• then later joined them together and kneaded again.
• the dough has to be kneaded really well till its soft and pliable. add more water if required while kneading. i kneaded the dough for about 8 minutes.
• now rub some olive oil all over the dough and keep it in the same pan.
• cover with a kitchen towel and allow the pizza dough to leaven for an hour or two. if you have added dry active yeast, then increase the time to 1:30 minutes to 2:30 hours, depending on the temperature conditions.
• so when the dough is leavening, prep up the other ingredients like chopping veggies, grating cheese and preparing pizza sauce.

Preparing pizza sauce:

• rinse and then chop the tomatoes.
• puree the tomatoes in a blender or with a hand blender. keep a few bits and pieces of tomatoes in the puree. you can also blanch the tomatoes and then chop or crush them.
• heat olive oil in a small pan.
• then add the chopped garlic and saute for 10-12 seconds on a low flame.
• add the tomato puree and saute for 4-5 mins on a low to medium flame. if using red wine, then you can add it once the tomatoes are cooked.
• when the tomatoes are cooked, add the chopped basil, dry oregano, salt and pepper.
• stir & simmer for 1-2 minutes on a low to medium flame.
• check the seasonings add more salt or pepper if required.
• once cooled, use the pizza sauce as a topping on pizzas or store in a bowl or in a small jar.

Assembling the pizza dough:

• after the dough has leavened, divide the dough into two or three parts. lightly knead each portion and keep covered for 15 to 20 minutes more. two parts will yield 2 pizzas of 8 to 10 inches. whereas 3 parts, will yield 3 pizzas of 4 to 5 inches in diameter. one 8 to 10 inch pizza is enough for people. this pizza is more heavy to eat due to whole wheat flour.
• before assembling pizza, grease a 9 to 10 inch diameter round pan with olive oil. dust the pan with some whole wheat flour or cornmeal of semolina. also preheat your oven to 250 degrees celsius.
• the oven should be hot and preheated for atleast 20 minutes. the preheating time in microwave oven in convection mode is 15 minutes. the preheat temperature is 200 degrees celsius or 220 degrees celsius, whatever is the highest temperature in your microwave oven.
• take one portion of the whole wheat pizza dough and lightly dust the dough with whole wheat flour.
• with a rolling pin, roll the dough to a round of 8 to 9 inches diameter evenly.
• lift the pizza gently and place it in the prepared pan.
• brush some olive on the pizza dough.
• now take 3 to 4 tbsp of the pizza sauce and spread it evenly all around.
• add 3 tbsp of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
• now top up with the veggies. you can add your choice of veggie toppings.
• now sprinkle some red chili flakes and dry oregano all over. this is an optional step.
• again top up with 5 to 6 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese. you can add less amount of cheese if you want to.
• keep the baking tray in the center rack of the preheated oven with both the top and bottom heating rods on. bake for 12 to 15 minutes till the cheese had melted or has golden specks. for a crisp crust, you can also bake for a longer time. since oven temperature vary, do keep a check while baking the pizza. for baking in convection mode, use the same temperature that you preheated your oven at - 200 or 220 degrees celsius.
• once baked and golden, slice the whole wheat pizza and serve hot.

SOURCE: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/
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