HOW TO MAKE DELICIOUS PIZZA AT HOME

One of the many things that we love about Italy is its gift of delicious “Pizza” to mankind. No word can fathom the love for Pizza that the world shares. In fact, Pizza can easily be used as the world peace symbol! Yes - That’s how serious love for pizza is! This 10th-century Italian dish has easily made its way in every heart, home and yeah- definitely stomach.

Pizzas are loved by all – kids, teens, adults, and oldies, basically everyone. And, why it shouldn’t? It is just too delicious to be ignored! Today you can easily order pizza online from Pizza Hut, which is solely famous for making the most delicious pizzas with a wide variety option for toppings and pizza crusts. You can also avail for various Pizza Hut offers and save a few bucks.

Well, as pizza has already found out its place in our home, it’s time that we try our hand at making the best and most delicious pizza at home. So, how to make delicious Pizza at home? Below is a step by step recipe for making a hearty –zesty –cheesy pizza easily at home;

PERFECT CHEESY HOMEMADE PIZZA

Prep Time: 2hrs 20mins

Cook Time: 20mins

Total Time: 2hrs 20mins

INGREDIENTS: (3 Medium pizzas)

For Pizza Base:-

• 3 cups all purpose flour (Maida)
• 1 cup warm water /or to be added as required
• 2 teaspoon dry active yeast
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt / or to be added as required
• Spare olive oil (for brushing)
• All purpose flour/cornmeal/semolina (for sprinkling)

For Tomato Sauce:-

• 4 – 5 medium sized pizza (finely chopped)
• 2 – 3 medium garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 tablespoon red wine (optional)
• 2 tablespoon dry/fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon of dry/fresh oregano
• Fresh grounded black pepper
• Salt as required

For Toppings:-

• 1 onion sliced
• 1 bell pepper sliced ( you can choose different colors to make it more attractive)
• 1 tomato sliced or chopped ( sliced is preferable as it gives a better look)
• 8-9 pitted green olives sliced (optional)
• 8-9 pitted black olives sliced (optional)
• Grated Mozzarella cheese or pizza cheese (as per requirement)
• Shredded chicken ( for non-veg lovers )

METHOD

The first and the foremost step towards making a delicious pizza are making the perfect base for pizza. This is also the trickiest part of making a perfect pizza. Though tricky, yet certainly not difficult. However, most of the people are afraid to try out making pizza bases at home and hence opt for the ready-made pizza bases available at the market. The ready-made bases are certainly great in taste and are easily available, yet they are nothing like the home-made bases! So, let’s make this special and get ready to make the Pizza Dough.

Step 1:- as said, the first step is to bake a Pizza base. Take a large bowl of warm water and add some sugar and dry yeast in it. Stir well, and let the mixture get set at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. You will know it is ready when you see the mixture turn frothy.  

Step 2:- add 1 cup flour, salt and olive oil in the frothy yeast water and give it a stir. Add rest of the flour and mix it thoroughly, till it becomes sticky and uniformly mixed.

Step 3:- knead the dough into a smooth ball and apply some olive oil all over the dough. If the dough becomes sticky then add a little water to it.

Step 4:- cover the dough with a plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for around 1-2 hours. The dough will rise and become almost double. If the dough leaves an indentation while poking, then it is ready.

(Making Tomato sauce)

 Step 5:- after the dough is ready, make the tomato sauce. For making tomato sauce, blanch the tomatoes and chop them. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic. When the garlic turns brownish, add the tomatoes and wine. Cook it for 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper according to taste and all the herbs mentioned.  Mix well and cook it for another 4-5 minutes.

(Assembling the Pizza)

Step 6:- divide the dough into equal parts using a knife and then flatten the dough using a rolling pin. Pull the dough to the edges to thin out the dough in the center. You can also add some semolina for better separation. Please make sure that the thickness is even throughout.

Step 7:- place the dough in a greased and dusted pan. Brush some olive oil on pizza base dough and then spread the tomato sauce evenly.

Step 8:- top it with all the veggies mentioned and for the non-veg lovers then can also add some shredded chicken along with the veggies.  Spread grated mozzarella cheese over the pizza. You can also put some cheese chunks unevenly (this is a bonus for all the cheese lovers out there).

Step 9:- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C, and bake the pizza for approximately 15- 20 minutes.

Step 10:- sprinkle some oregano and chilly over the freshly baked pizza and voila! A super tasty-zesty and cheesy pizza is ready to go!

So, next time when your heart and stomach is crying out for a fancy, tasty dinner that goes easy on pockets too, give no second thought and make a fresh home-made delicious Pizza. Also, don’t forget to experiment with different kinds of toppings according to your choice. You can put your favorite veggies to make it an extra bit special. A freshly baked homemade pizza can easily lift up your boring day and bring in loads of happiness for you and your family and friends.  A one-word synonym of sheer happiness definitely has to be “Pizza”!  So, what you are waiting for? Go ahead, invite your near and dear ones, bake a delicious home-made special pizza, pour out the wine and you are all set to be recognized as a star chef by one and all!