Vegetarian Pizza

Making your own pizza dough gives you total flexibility to make your pizza bases as thick or thin as you like, and is relatively easy, but needs 1 hour to rise in a warm area.  You will notice the difference when making your own dough, the texture can be rolled a little less for a more spongy thickness or rolled more for a thin and crispy bite.

If you don't have time to make your own pizza dough, you can use store bought bases.

Ingredients

• Pizza Base

  • 1 cup high protein flour (pizza flour)
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried yeast
  • 2/3 cup water – must be luke warm

  
  Topping

  • 2 large mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tbl sun dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 cup reduced fat cheese
  • 3 tablespoons pizza sauce
  • 2 tablespoons red capsicum strips, fresh or from jar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
  • 10 pineapple pieces
  • ¼ onion, sliced
  • 3 cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
  • Sprinkle garlic powder
  • Sprinkle Oregano or Italian herbs

Pizza Base

• 1 cup high protein flour (pizza flour)
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 2/3 cup water – must be luke warm

Topping

• 2 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbl sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup reduced fat cheese
• 3 tablespoons pizza sauce
• 2 tablespoons red capsicum strips, fresh or from jar
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 10 pineapple pieces
• ¼ onion, sliced
• 3 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• Sprinkle garlic powder
• Sprinkle Oregano or Italian herbs

Method

1. Preheat oven 220C or your Weber Gas BBQ on high, we used a pizza stone, available everywhere in stores.  We placed this in the oven/BBQ to heat up.
2. In a large bowl sift the flour and salt. Make a well in the middle. Pour olive oil in well.
3. Mix yeast and 3 tablespoons of warm water, pour into well and the rest of the water.
4. With your fingers start swirling around and incorporate liquid into flour.  This will be sticky to start with.  Once all comes together into a ball, sprinkle a little flour on a large board or bench top,place the ball of flour and knead with hands for 1 minute.  (if still too sticky, just sprinkle more flour until doesn’t stick anymore).
5. Spray large bowl with cooking spray and place ball into bowl, cover bowl tightly with cling film and place in warm area to sit for 1 hour until dough rises.
6. When dough has risen, take out, place on floured surface and with a rolling pin roll into a large circle.  We used a pizza tray (available most cooking stores and inexpensive) but you can use an oven tray sprayed with cooking oil.  Place dough onto oiled tray.
7. Place pizza sauce onto pizza, don’t go to the edges. Sprinkle cheese around, garlic powder, then all the other ingredients layering as you like. Drizzle sweet chilli sauce on top and sprinkle dried herbs on top.
8. Place tray onto pizza stone and cook for 12 mins, checking at 10 min mark.
9. Take out and serve immediately.