The Healthy Herbivore: Pizza 101

Who's interested in a yummy cheat meal? Below is the recipe for the pizza's I made this last weekend.

Ingredients:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon unbleached cane sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions :

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until creamy; about 10 minutes.

2. Stir the olive oil, whole wheat flour , salt and 4 cups of the bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic , about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume; about 1 hour.

3. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly flour ed surf ace. Divide the dough into 4-6 equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

4. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into the desired shape. Sprinkle some corn meal on the pan and place the pizza dough on top. The corn meal will provide a nice texture to the bottom of the pizza, and will also keep the dough from sticking to the pan.

5. Using a brush or finger tips, rub olive oil into the top of the dough, and sprinkle the crust with garlic salt. Add your favorite toppings and bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown .

I chose a jalapeño pizza with a mixture of regular pizza sauce and mango habanero salsa. I then added mushroom, jalapeno peppers, garlic, tomato, basil and vegan cheese.The other pizza I made had a hummus base, it left my taste buds tingling and my mouth salivating. For the sauce I put a thick coat of red pepper hummus (see recipe in blog post below), and topped the pizza with mushrooms, tomato, basil, salt & pepper, and a extra splash of olive oil on the top.