Home made pizza base: with my kinda toppings :-) | Kukskitchen

Pizza is a favourite especially when catering to kids in a party. My son luvs it and so does his friends. I prefer making my own pizza base as it is way better than the ready-made ones. I have altered my technique over the years and the one described below is by far the best. I luv pizza hut and some of my alterations have been for my base to look and taste like theirs. Make them yourself and let me know. :-)

Makes: 2  large (10") pizzas

Ingredients:

1 - Warm water - 1 1/2 cups
     Yeast - 2 tsp
     Sugar - 1 tsp

2 - Plain flour - 3 1/2 cups

3 - Olive oil - 2 tbsp

4 - Semolina / rava - for dusting

5 - Salt to taste

Method:

- Mix (1) together and leave to rise for 15-20 mts

- Mix flour with salt in a large mixing bowl and add olive oil. Make a well at the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Using a fork or spoon gradually bring in the dry ingredients and mix till all the flour is wet. Make it in to a ball.

- Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

- Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands – this is called knocking back the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straight away, divide the dough up into two.

- The dough will be very sticky at this point. So roll them out on a semolina dusted surface, which helps u handle the dough better. I use the flat of my hands and fingers to roll the pizza rounds for a rustic effect. Make sure to not pull them so hard that u break the dough.

- Add the topping of your coice and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or till done. 

Toppings:

- I start off with a light brushing of olive oil to prevent the dough absorbing any of the moisture from the sauces.

- Next comes the turn of tomato-garlic sauce. I mix some ketchup with garlic paste ( about 1/2 tsp) and spread a thin layer on top leaving an inch on the outer rim. 

- The best topping I would suggest is pepperoni, mozzarella and basil. They are great together.

- U can also use what ever is left over in ur fridge or any thing at all as ur toppings. Left over sausages,  beef fry, chicken dry fry, chilli fish, paneer , u can go wild with ingredients. Make sure u all enough veggies to balance out the taste. I use capsicum, red onion, mushroom, green chilli (if making for adults) etc cut in to thick slices. 

- Sprinkle with cheese of ur choice. I use grated mozzarella  as it gives a nice stringy texture when baked. 

Tips:

- It is a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don't roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though – if you are working in advance like this it's better to leave your dough, covered with clingfilm, in the fridge.

- If u have a pizza pan, try adding a tsp of butter or ghee to the pan before placing ur pizza base. This crisps up the base to give a pizza-hut- like effect.

Cheers
Sherin Deepu