Easy vegan pizza sliceHomemade pizza is always a crowd-pleaser because it’s so easy to customise to suit everybody’s individual tastes:   kids (and adults!) love being allowed to roll out and decorate their own mini pizzas (and we’ve done heart-shaped pizza and pizza faces sometimes too).

Because you don’t need to leave it to rise, the base for this is astoundingly quick to make, even if you’re doing it by hand.

There’s no need to hunt down vegan cheese in order to make fantastic vegan pizza – a pizza loaded with vegetables, especially with something like aubergine or roast butternut squash that are a bit melt-in-the-mouth, or one that’s topped with handfuls of fresh rocket just before serving, is just as good without. However, if you do want a cheese substitute, the one we’ve found best for pizza is pictured below. Or for something a little different, try the ‘green’ pizza variation further down the page…

 

 

Ingredients

For the base:

300g strong white bread flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

200 ml warm water

 

For a very simple ‘red’ sauce:

1 tin of chopped tomatoes,

2 tsps dried oregano

 

And any combination of the following:

vegan mozzarella-style cheese; thinly sliced courgettes, mushrooms, or red pepper; aubergine (sliced thinly and brushed with oil); sweetcorn (tinned, drained); broccoli florets (pre-cook by boiling in water for a few minutes); olives (pitted); artichokes hearts; sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, drained); butternut squash (cubed and pre-roasted in a little oil); caramelized onions; cherry tomatoes; fresh spinach (just pile it on fresh, it will wilt in the oven); fresh rocket (don’t cook it, scatter it on just before serving); vegan pesto.

 

1. To make the base by hand, put the flour into  a large bowl and stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour, pour in the warm water and olive oil and mix until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Alternatively, to make the base using a mixer, just measure out all of the ingredients into the bowl of the mixer and use a dough hook to knead it for five minutes or so. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.

(If the dough is too wet, add a bit more flour and work in. You can leave the dough to rise if you wish, but for a thin-crust pizza it’s not essential. If the dough is too stretchy to roll out leave it to rest for 10 minutes or so and then try again)

2. To make a very simple red sauce, use a hand blender to whizz the tinned tomatoes and stir in the oregano.

(You could just use passata, but it tends to come with unnecessary added salt. If you’re using a cheaper brand of tinned tomatoes you might want to squeeze in some extra tomato puree, or if you’re feeling really fancy you could jazz it up by whizzing in some roasted red peppers).

3. Now roll out the dough: if you left the dough to rise, give it a quick knead first, then split the dough into two balls. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into two large rounds around 25cm across. Lift the rounds onto two pizza stones or floured baking sheets.

(If you’re using pizza stones you can minimise the clean-up by rolling the dough out directly on to the floured stone).

4. Preheat the oven to 240C/Fan 220C/Gas #8.

(If you’re not using a pizza stone, you might want to put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf as this can prevent a soggy bottom.)

5. Spread the sauce over the bases with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1″ gap around the edge. Scatter with your chosen toppings.

6. Put the pizzas in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp.

(Troubleshooting: baking on a pizza stone or a preheated upturned baking tray should prevent problems with the base not being cooked, but if you do have this problem, it probably means either that the base is too thick or that there was too much topping – if the top is done before the base is cooked through, just cover with foil and give it another 5 minutes).

 

Variations:

For a yummy ‘green’ sauce

2 courgettes, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tahini

garlic clove

handful of fresh coriander

handful of fresh spinach

 

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the courgettes over a medium heat until tender.

2. Use a hand blender to puree the cooked courgettes with the rest of the ingredients.

3. Use this ‘green’ paste to cover the pizza base in the place of the conventional ‘red’ tomato sauce, top with your preferred toppings and proceed as above.

Sources: Pizza base adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe; ‘green’ sauce adapted from Marie Laforet’s recipe in her fantastic book, ‘Vegan’.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Easy Vegan Pizza
 
Homemade pizza in no time at all, perfect every time.
Author:
Recipe type: Pizza
Cuisine: vegan, dairy-free, Italian
Ingredients
For the base:
  • 300g strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 200 ml warm water
For a very simple 'red' sauce:
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes,
  • 2 tsps dried oregano
Alternatively, for a yummy 'green' sauce:
  • 2 courgettes, diced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • garlic clove
  • handful of fresh coriander
  • handful of fresh spinach
And any combination of the following:
  • vegan mozzarella-style cheese; thinly sliced courgettes, mushrooms, or red pepper; aubergine (sliced thinly and brushed with oil); sweetcorn (tinned, drained); broccoli florets (pre-cook by boiling in water for a few minutes); olives (pitted); artichokes hearts; sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, drained); butternut squash (cubed and pre-roasted in a little oil); caramelized onions; cherry tomatoes; fresh spinach (just pile it on fresh, it will wilt in the oven); fresh rocket (don't cook it, scatter it on just before serving); vegan pesto.
Instructions
To make the base
  1. If making it by hand, put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour, pour in the warm water and olive oil and mix until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Alternatively, to make the base using a mixer, just measure out all the ingredients into the bowl of the mixer and use a dough hook to knead it for five minutes or so. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you wish, but for a thin-crust pizza it's not essential. If the dough is too stretchy to roll out leave it to rest for 10 minutes or so and then try again.
To make a very simple red sauce:
  1. Use a hand blender to whizz the tinned tomatoes and stir in the oregano. You could just buy passata, but it tends to come with unnecessary added salt. If you're using a cheaper brand of tinned tomatoes you might want to squeeze in some extra tomato puree, or if you're feeling really fancy you could jazz it up by whizzing in some roasted red peppers.
Variation - to make the green sauce
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the courgettes over a medium heat until tender.
  2. Use a hand blender to puree the cooked courgettes with the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Use this 'green' paste to cover the pizza base in the place of the conventional 'red' tomato sauce, top with your preferred toppings and proceed as above.
To compose the pizza:
  1. Roll out the dough: if you left the dough to rise, give it a quick knead first, then split the dough into two balls. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into two large rounds around 25cm across. Lift the rounds onto two pizza stones or floured baking sheets. If you're using pizza stones you can minimise the clean-up by rolling the dough out directly on to the floured stone.
  2. Preheat the oven to 240C/Fan 220C/Gas #8. If you're not using a pizza stone, you might want to put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf as this can prevent a soggy bottom.
  3. Spread the sauce over the bases with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1" gap around the edge. Scatter with your chosen toppings.
  4. Put the pizzas in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp.
Notes
Troubleshooting: baking on a pizza stone or a preheated upturned baking tray should prevent problems with the base not being cooked, but if you do have this problem, it is probably either because the base was too thick or because there was too much topping - but if the top is done before the base is cooked through, just cover with foil and give it another 5 minutes.