Servings : Serves 3-4
Making a perfect pizza is really easy…you can do it at home and have better results than most bought pizzas! Here’s how you can make one at home! 🙂
Ingredients for Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 5 tbsp. oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast (use 2 tsp. for colder climates)
- 2 pinches of baking powder
- warm milk mixed with a bit of water for kneading
Instructions
STEP 1: Prepare the pizza sauce
You can buy this ready-made, but I always prefer knowing what goes into my pizza sauce. Here is my recipe for a simple pizza sauce. Do not go overboard with the spices, you want this simple and naturally flavorful.
Blend 2-3 tomatoes, 1 capsicum, 1 green chilli, small onion and a grated carrot together until smooth. Heat a bit of oil in a pan, like a tbsp. or even less. Then add a bit of garlic paste, followed by 1 tbsp. tomato paste. Once that’s cooked for a couple mins, add the blended mixture and simmer. Add salt and a tsp. of sugar followed by a bit of tandoori masala or cumin powder or oregano or you can just leave it plain and unspiced according to your taste. Let it simmer until thick and all the water is gone. Then use accordingly! 🙂
Leftover sauce can work perfectly in burgers or sandwiches or even as a base-sauce for pasta
STEP 2: Get all your toppings ready. I’ve used shredded leftover tandoori baked chicken (recipe HERE) I’ve also used chunks of pineapple, some sweet corn, red & green capsicum/bell pepper and some sliced red onions.
You can use any topping of your choice. You can make it a meat pizza, veggie, combo…whatever you like. Just make sure your toppings are not soggy otherwise your pizza will be a sloppy mess.
STEP 3: Now prepare the dough. This pizza was a 12 inch one, and it is enough for 3 very hungry people or 4 if you have any sides like garlic bread, fries, salad…etc.
Mix all the dry ingredients and the oil, then slowly start adding the warm milk a little at a time. Get it to a soft dough, the softer the better, knead it very well for at least 8 minutes or more if possible.
Dab a touch of oil all over the dough, then cover it and place it somewhere warm. Leave it to rise to double its size, takes about 30 mins to an hour depending on the weather.
Once risen, punch it down, give it a quick knead and then roll it out to about 12 inches diameter and place on your greased pizza pan/tray. Again cover the tray with a light cloth/towel and let the base rest/rise slightly for about 15-20 mins
STEP 4: When you check on it after 20 mins, it will have slightly puffed up. Take a sharp knife and make tiny slits all over the base. This helps the pizza rise evenly during baking once the toppings are on it. Missing this step can leave your pizza bubbly in some parts and flat in others, not a pretty sight! 🙂
STEP 5: Once you’ve made the slits, apply a coating of your pizza sauce as evenly as you can.
STEP 6: Now grate some cheese, mozzarella preferably, and sprinkle a light layer all over. This helps ‘grip’ the toppings to the base later on.
STEP 7: Now add your toppings one at a time
Pic 1: Tandoori Chicken chunks
Pic 2: Sliced onions
Pic 3: Pineapple chunks
Pic 4: Red & Green Pepper
Pic 5: Sweet corn
Pic 6: Mozzarella & Cheddar Cheese (make sure you use GOOD QUALITY cheeses for best results)
Make sure you don’t over-pile your pizza. Be generous but not overly so. Remember, the base has not been baked beforehand. Too much weight could restrict the base from rising well during baking. 🙂
STEP 8: I like to drizzle some ketchup over the cheese. It gives the pizza a magnificent color once baked. If you like, you can sprinkle some oregano on the pizza or chili powder if you like it extra spicy.
Once done, bake the pizza in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 20-25mins. Keep an eye on it and adjust the baking time according to your oven. It could take more or less time.
FINAL RESULT!
And you have your perfect home-made pizza, just like that! When you get the pizza out of the oven, give it some time to rest (about 5-10 mins) so that the cheese can settle and cool very slightly. Slice it up into 8 slices and serve with fries or a salad and garlic bread. Don’t forget a cold drink!
Asalaamalikum, do u roll the dough out with ur hand or a roller? also, how flat shud the base be after uve rolled it out? is it true that if u roll it out too flat, or with a roller (instead of lightly with ur fingers) the base losses all its puffiness and doesn’t rise… ?
W/Salaam, I use a roller then after placing it on the pizza tray, if the edges are not perfect I press them gently with my finger-tips to get the perfect circle. About quarter inch thickness is good enough, or even slightly thicker. After shaping the base I cover and let it rest for a while, which helps it puff up again before adding the toppings. If you do that, there will be no risk of your pizza not puffing up.
can u tell me if we take 250gm of flour so how much yeast n other ingredients use for pizza dough??????
1 cup of flour is 120 gm. Adjust accordingly. 🙂
this make a soft pizza base how can i make a crispy piza base
Roll it thinner. 🙂
am gng to try this soon .inshaAllah.thnx fauzia
Insha allah im also gonna try…….my dough never comes out r8…bt i think this wuld.thnx fauzia…GOD BLESS U!!! 🙂
Salamz sis!
my dough became a bit hard…i think bcz of the quantity of the milk went wrong. Cn u pls tell me the quantity of milk nd water u use? pls
W/Salaam. It’s generally difficult to estimate how much water/milk is needed exactly as different flours absorb differently and different altitudes affect absorption rates. Mix half a cup of milk with half a cup of water. Warm it up, then gradually add and knead the dough. Use as much as it will take to get the dough to a soft and smooth consistency. You may need more water/milk or you may not need to use all. Once you’ve got the hang of it with your particular brand of flour, you will know for sure for next time.
cn u pls tell ur quantity of milk u use…….pls
Hi! It’s generally difficult to estimate how much water/milk is needed exactly as different flours absorb differently and different altitudes affect absorption rates. Mix half a cup of milk with half a cup of water. Warm it up, then gradually add and knead the dough. Use as much as it will take to get the dough to a soft and smooth consistency. You may need more water/milk or you may not need to use all. Once you’ve got the hang of it with your particular brand of flour, you will know for sure for next time.
hi fauzia ,i like ur recieps,
whn i try everything comes perfect.thank fauzia
Salaams Sister,
My crust came a bit hard, why is that? I like the soft crust, so I wonder what went wrong.. and also could you please tell me the thickness of the dough when you roll it?
Thanks..
W/Salaam, could be that you rolled it out too thin or over-baked it. The thickness should be about half an inch or a bit thinner, or if you prefer thin crust then quarter inch will do.
I didn’t notice the dough rising while baking. I doubt whether the yeast was working. I used SAF brand. But the dough rose initially.
Maybe you rolled the dough out too thin? Did you allow the pizza dough to rest after shaping the circle? That is when it rises, not during the baking.
Salams sis,.can we use coconut milk instead of fresh milk?.and is it a must to use pizza tray since i got only squre/rectangular ones..
W/Salaam, have not tried with coconut milk, this is best plain with milk or simply use warm water. And yes you can use any shaped pan, remember to grease it.
A.a hpe ur 5ne sis.it a mst 2
A.a hpe ur 5ne sis.it a mst 2 add baking powder kwani n wat abt blueband wen kneadng the flour it gud ama?
W/Salaam, baking powder helps
W/Salaam, baking powder helps reduce any extra yeasty smell from the dough. You can use blueband but oil works just as well. 🙂
hey can you please tell me
hey can you please tell me that when baking pizza if the pizza bread is ready made and baking in gas oven which flame should i turn on lower or upper griller?since my oven allows me to turn only one flame at a time.
The top one. 🙂
The top one. 🙂
Assalam-o-alaikum Fauzia, I
Assalam-o-alaikum Fauzia, I want to ask about baking a pizza, if I plan to bake a pizza for a party at my house & I want to ready pizza before 2/3 hours of eating time & just before half hour starting at dinner I just bake prepared pizza? Is that ok to make garnish & fully prepared a pizza & bake after around 2 hours if yes how can I store no baked pizza for 2 hours?on room temperature or what? Plz plz help me,JazakAllah…
W/Salaam, you can put all the
W/Salaam, you can put all the toppings and bake the pizza halfway (until the base looks halfway done and the cheese has begun to melt. Then remove and set it aside at room temp. When ready to serve, pop it in the hot oven and bake until completely done. You can do a practice run with a small home-pizza before the party. Just to see how it looks and turns out. I do this all the time. 🙂
Thank u so much for Ur quick
Thank u so much for Ur quick response, I must say u r a savior,JazakAllah 🙂
thanx for all ur recipies ..
thanx for all ur recipies ..
MA they are really awsome..hats off for u..keep on adding more it helps us alot
Hello – my question is can
Hello – my question is can pizza dough be frozen? Thx
Hi, yes you can freeze it.
Hi, yes you can freeze it. Knead and wrap it well and freeze, do not allow it to rise. It will rise as it thaws when you remove it for use.
Hi,Thanks for your recipes. I
Hi,Thanks for your recipes. I tried pizza, but my crust became hard and roasted. As I am new to kitchen I am not quite sure about baking conditions in oven. what should be used to grease baking tray? what mode must be used? ( top and bottom heating or bottom heating only) The same thing happened with cakes too.:(
Hi! Sounds like you may have
Hi! Sounds like you may have over-baked the pizza. About the rods that need to be switched on, my oven works differently (I don’t have to switch on various rods at any time) but I believe for ovens like what you are using, start with the bottom one and then midway turn on the top. Accordingly see how the results are and adjust. 🙂
Assalam alaykum, if I wanted
Assalam alaykum, if I wanted to make a roasted veg pizza, would I follow the same steps? is there an issue with the base if I roast the veg beforehand? I want to avoid a soggy pizza!
W/Salaam, yes you can use the
W/Salaam, yes you can use the same steps. And yes you can roast the veggies before hand if they are prone to being soggy. Here is a veggie topped pizza: http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/vegetable-pizza
wow…I am so happy.My pizza
wow…I am so happy.My pizza bread got baked so awesome…Everyone loved it. Hats Off to you Fauzya…! 🙂