Classic Homemade Veggie Pizza with dough made from scratch, tomato sauce, mushrooms, peppers, olives and of course, cheese. Loads of cheese. That’s the secret to a happy life! A super simple recipe that never fails.
Pizza! You hear this one word, and suddenly your day is nice and bright. I mean, who doesn’t like pizza? Judging by all the pizza restaurants around the world, then l’d say lots of people.
And rightly so, it’s hot, it’s cheesy, it’s loaded with whatever takes your fancy, it’s just perfect. I do like a good pizza, but that’s the problem, although you can find pizza anywhere, not all have that wow factor. You need to find THE ONE.
I have lost the count how many time I was disappointed that the take-away pizza we ordered was delivered either almost cold, or the crust was rather soggy, and just boring. So, yeah, homemade pizza all the way.
If you fear that your crust won’t be as nice as the restaurant ones, l can assure you it’s even better. I can’t believe how little effort goes into making it. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, it’s super simple and you get a perfect crust all the time. Just top it with your favourite veggies or meat, oven on, and that’s it. Blessed be the soul of whoever invented the pizza!
How to make homemade pizza dough
You might have the best ingredients to top your pizza, but if the crust is not right, then the pizza will be a total fail. Let’s see how we can get it right every single time without any problem whatsoever.
- in a jug, add the lukewarm water, the dried fast-action yeast, sugar and a teaspoon of flour. Give it a stir, and set aside for 10-15 minute until it becomes foamy
Getting the yeast right is crucial. If the yeast is not active, it will not become foamy. Do not use it in that case, because the dough will not rise, and the crust will be too tough. So, best to start again until the yeast is right.
- in a bowl, sift the flour, add the yeast mixture, salt, olive oil, garlic granules and Italian herbs, and knead gently into a dough that is elastic and does not stick to the hands
The best flour to use for pizzas in the strong white bread flour. Add a bit more if the dough is still sticky.
- shape the dough into a ball, lightly brush with oil, cover with cling film and set aside for 1-2 hours or until it doubles its size
It helps if the dough is left to rise into a warm room, that speeds up the rising. If the room is cooler, it might take longer to get the besr results.
- divive the dough into 2 balls, and roll each ball into about quarter of an inch thickness, or flatter, depending how thick you like the crust
- spread tomato sauce over, making sure it doesn’t reach the edges, then add the toppings you like, I used mushrooms, peppers, mozzarella cheese and olives
- bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden
What are the best veggie pizza toppings
We all have veggies we like and veggies we hate, so I guess in the end it comes down to personal preference. But, usually, a classic veggie pizza can be topped with cheese, peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, sweetcorn, and, of course, tomato sauce.
One note here! If you use mushrooms, make sure you cook them beforehand. And that’s because mushrooms have a high amount of water, which can make the pizza dough watery and soggy. It only takes a few minutes to have them done, so that’s actually pretty easy.
Just add the sliced mushrooms to a pan together with a drop of olive oil and some butter, season if you wish with salt, pepper, garlic and herbs, to make them extra yummy, then leave to cool until they are ready to top the pizza.
What is the best temperature for a pizza in the oven?
Now, that’s a tough question to answer. And that’s because all ovens are so different, that they can bring different results. Commercial ovens are obviously different, so we leave those for now.
Homemade ovens, on the other hand don’t go as high in temperature, so we need to find that works best. And after testing a few times I came to the conclusion that the best temperature to start with is 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahreneheit) for the first 10 minutes, then increased to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for the last 5-10 minutes.
Why the change in temperature? First, if the temperature is too high, the edges tend to brown too quickly, while the middle is still undercooked. Setting the temperature lower allow the dough to cook well, while the cheese melts nicely and the veggies get cooked properly.
Increasing the temperature at the end allows the dough to get the nice golden colour, while the toppings are cooked to perfection. Now, that’s my finding, and I got the best pizza I’ve had in ages. Worth giving it a try!
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Classic Homemade Veggie Pizza with dough made from scratch, tomato sauce, mushrooms, peppers, olives and of course, cheese. Loads of cheese. That's the secret to a happy life! A super simple recipe that never fails.
- 3 1/4 cups strong white bread flour
- 2 tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 1/4 cup of lukewarm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1 green pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 cup sliced closed cup mushrooms
- 1 cup mini mozzarella balls
- 1/4 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
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To make the dough, add the water in a jug, mix in the yeast, olive oil and sugar and a teaspoon of flour and set aside for 10 minutes.
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In a large bowl, combine flour and salt, then, pour in the yeast mixture, garlic powder and herbs.
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Knead into a dough for 5 minutes until it's elastic and no longer sticks to your hand.
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Shape the dough into a ball.
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Slightly oil the bowl and the dough, cover with clingfilm and a clean tea towel, then leave to prove for 1-2 hours until it doubles its size.
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 Fahreneheit).
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Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface, knead it around for a bit to push the air out, then divide it into two equal balls and roll one ball to the size of your pizza pan.
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You can either make the second pizza at the same time, or wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate the second dough ball to use it later on.
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Sprinkle some salt over the mushrooms and put them on the grill for 3-4 minutes.
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Cut the peppers into strips.
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Spread the tomato passata over, sprinkle some dried Italian herbs, grated Cheddar cheese, mushrooms, peppers, olives and mini Mozzarella balls
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Sprinkle some oregano on top, then one pizza is ready to go in the oven.
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Bake for 10 minutes, then increase the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahreneheit), and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
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Serve hot!
