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!
Assalam o alikum. I wana ask
Assalam o alikum. I wana ask that when i maked my dou it was quite hard and cheese is not soo good. that available in the market perfectly for pizza..will you please guide me that which type of cheese i used..
W/Salaam, if dough is hard
W/Salaam, if dough is hard add more liquid and keep kneading until it is soft. Mozzarella and cheddar cheese combination are my favourite for pizza toppings.
AoA.
AoA.
What is difference between Mozerrela cheese adn chadder cheese?
can we put only chadder cheese on it? or will it effect our pizza.
Also how to put the cheese on the pizza? like to cover it full or what?
Not sure what the difference
Not sure what the difference is, but mozzarella has a stretch quality that is awesome on pizzas. Grate the cheese then sprinkle on top of the pizza .
Aoa fauzia, tried the pizza
Aoa fauzia, tried the pizza today.. Generally turned out quite well but there was a layer of dough just beneath the topping/pizza sauce that did not get baked properly. This was giving an undercooked taste in the mouth. The central part if the pizza was like this but the outer/ peripheral part was nicely baked. What went wrong? Do u think I may have overloaded because at some places the base was a but oily and not well risen
Thanks dear. Could be that
Thanks dear. Could be that the oven heating is not consistent, maybe the middle is not as hot as the sides. Although yes you need to make sure you do not overload the middle.
Assalamu alaikum FKF and a
Assalamu alaikum FKF and a belated Eid Mubarak to you all! I was wondering whether you have a pizza dough recipe that is gluten free for those who are intolerant to wheat and other gluten grains?
I made the pizza for iftaar in Ramadhan and it was a hit! Shukran 🙂
W/Salaam and thank you. I
W/Salaam and thank you. I will add a couple of gluten free pizza bases soon inshaAllah. 🙂
Oh shukran mashaAllah that
Oh shukran mashaAllah that would be fabulous thank you!
Wow.. It was so lovely n
Wow.. It was so lovely n tasty ,Thanks for so nice n perfect recipe .
Salaams All 🙂
Salaams All 🙂
This recipe is a hit in my house!
Looking forward to the gluten free bases in sha Allah x
Aa.JAZAKILLAH KHEIR FOR UR
Aa.JAZAKILLAH KHEIR FOR UR EFFORTS. KINDLY COULD U PLS GIVE ME THE RECIPE FOR THE PERIPERI FRIES. ALLA YAATIKL AFYA INSHAALLAH
W/Salaam, you can use this
W/Salaam, you can use this recipe: http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/poussin-chipsfries
thanx so much fauza
thanx so much fauza jazakillah my oven is not working what can i do plss??
http://www.fauziaskitchenfun
http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/baked-pizza-no-oven
Assalamu alaikum,
Assalamu alaikum,
Mashallah this website is really good and you are doing a very wonderful job.1 thing I’d like to appreciate about you is you reply to the doubts asked by users immediately…I am residing in India..Was googling around and came across this website…
I am trying for the past 1 month,googling in the internet, trying to find out why my pizza dough doesn’t rise…Can you tell me why?I read your blog over the possible reasons for a dough not to rise…Still it didn’t help me..I use active dry yeast.Like you said i add it in warm water with sugar(make it stand for 15 mins) for it to get activated and then only pour it into flour…Small small bubbles appear on the surface…Then i knead the dough adding oil and warm milk for about 10 minutes and then cover it with a lid and make it stand for about 1 hour—still it doesn’t rise..:(Please help..
W/Salaam, could be that the
W/Salaam, could be that the brand of yeast you are using is not good. How do you store the yeast after opening a new pack? When you activate the active dry yeast it should froth and make lots of bubbles. If yours just makes small bubbles that means it is not strong enough. Try a different brand and see if there is a difference and make sure to store opened yeast in an airtight container in the fridge.
I have tried 2 different
I have tried 2 different brands and both gave me same results..Shall search for any other…I have doubts on the storage conditions…Once i open it,Is it ok if i empty out the contents of the yeast packet into an airtight container[have been doing this all this time].
Or Should i fold the package it came in,down to yeast level (to remove the extra air)and then Seal it with some tape or a clip before putting into the fridge.[This is what i read somewhere]
Normally if I buy a big pack,
Normally if I buy a big pack, I simply pour out some into an airtight container for everyday use and keep it refrigerated. The rest of the pack I fold it down and clip it closed and also keep that refrigerated.
I tried the recipe and turned
I tried the recipe and turned out really gud.
Every one liked it.
Thanks fauzia.
Hey, Do we have to mix yeast
Hey, Do we have to mix yeast in water or we can put it directly in dry ingredients. And i want to know is pizza dough really sticky when you knead it before letting it sit for rise?
Hi, if you are using INSTANT
Hi, if you are using INSTANT yeast as the recipe states, you add it to the flour directly. If you are using ACTIVE DRY yeast then you need to activate it in warm water before adding it to the flour. And no it should not be too sticky, it should be very soft but manageable.
Salaams Fauzia. I tried your
Salaams Fauzia. I tried your pizza recipe today and the dough turned out perfectly! Thanks! I usually make pizza but in the dough add an egg and butter. Your recipe is much easier, thanks!
My pizza turned out fantastic
My pizza turned out fantastic ! Thank you fauzia 🙂
Just a quick question regarding the dough .. This recipe gave me a good thickness crust . What amount of flour should i use for a medium crust like not very thin .. I was thinking maybe 1 n 1/2 cups of flour ?? Plus i baked the pizza for 15mins and it was ready . A thinner crust would take less time ?
You can divide the dough and
You can divide the dough and make two thin crust pizzas (slightly smaller in size). And yes they would require a slightly shorter baking time. Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Salam sis, I’m a fan from
Salam sis, I’m a fan from Nigeria….I really wanna tryout your pizza but unfortunately, I live in a place where we don’t have mozarella cheese or chedar cheese….what can I use instead of cheese pls?
W/Salaam, in my opinion a
W/Salaam, in my opinion a pizza is not really a pizza without the cheese…that is the best part of it! However if you do not have cheese you could try beating an egg and drizzling it over the pizza.
Assalamualikum.i did make the
Assalamualikum.i did make the pizza today.as i dnt have oven i bought the base and i used tawa at the end but the cheese did melt properly and the down part got burnt nor it was hot on top.plzzzz clarify my mistake
W/Salaam, please refer to my
W/Salaam, please refer to my stove-top method for making pizza if you do not have an oven.
Aoa. I love your recipes they
Aoa. I love your recipes they turn it soo good!!! Thank you so much 🙂 I want to make pizza but I’m all out of yeast for dough. Will my dough rise without yeast?
Thanks! Yeast is the main
Thanks! Yeast is the main raising agent and unfortunately you will need it for this recipe to work well.
Salam dear fauzia, I’m going
Salam dear fauzia, I’m going to make milk wid milk powder.so already I have to add water to make milk. If so do I need to add more water as u mentioned ‘milk + water ‘?
W/Salaam, well for kneading
W/Salaam, well for kneading it is ok either way. The milk helps make the dough softer. So you can either mix more water or add more milk, really up to you. 🙂
Salam,why u use oil to the
Salam,why u use oil to the dough? can I ado butter instead? bcz with butter its easy for me to kneed.And can I mix this pizza dough with a stand mixture? my hands soo paining while kneeding :@ please share ur ideas regarding theses!
W/Salaam, this dough turns
W/Salaam, this dough turns out best with oil but yes you can use butter, melt it first. And yes you can use a stand mixer, just give it a quick short knead afterwards before covering it for the first rise.