thin crust veggie pizza

the other day i spent a lovely evening getting  galactic pizza in minneapolis and catching a screening of the bling ring at the lagoon movie theater. if you know me at all, this is my kind of night. this was my first time having a vegan pizza at a restaurant and it sure did not disappoint. i was inspired to make my own homemade pizza and use some of that delicious daiya mozzarella cheese. for those of you that do not know, their cheese is dairy free and comes in couple different types.

this week we have had pizza an embarrassingly four nights in a row...three of which we made homemade pizzas. i honestly wouldn't mind four more days. homemade pizza is a definite comfort food for me.

i found this very very simple and my current favorite go-to thin crust pizza recipe. it is a definite winner! and their is zero waiting for the dough to rise so definitely a time saver. i highly suggest you plan to make this sometime soon.

one thin crust

ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil [plus more for drizzling]
• 2/3 cup water [more or less]

how to:

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees; combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined, add the olive oil and small increments of the water at a time. mix with a wooden spoon until mostly combined
2. after most of the dough has combined use your hands to knead it together; add more water if too dry or add more flour if too moist. the dough should just enough combined and soft; do not over knead so it becomes hard.
   
3. sprinkle some flour on your working surface to roll out the dough. roll it out to the size of your pizza pan or about 1/4 inch thick
4. take your pan and put aluminum foil over it, lightly sprinkle some olive oil on the foil and spread it around with your hands. transfer your rolled out dough to the pan and fold in the outer edges for a crust. poke some holes with a fork in the center of the dough.
5. once the oven is preheated bake your crust for 5 minutes

topping
 *all toppings are optional so feel free to use whatever you like and how much you like.
ingredients:

• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• pizza sauce  [i used about half a 15 oz] 
• spinach chopped
• bell pepper chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• red onion chopped
• mushrooms sliced
• avocado chopped
• 1 cup daiya mozzarella cheese

how to:

1. after your crust is out of the oven drizzle some of olive oil on the crust and spread it everywhere you can with the back of a spoon.
2. pour on your pizza sauce and spread it around with spoon getting more sauce on the outside near the crust than the middle. next sprinkle the garlic, add the chopped spinach, and then top with the remaining ingredients that you choose; red onion, peppers, mushrooms, avocaods. lastly add the cheese on top. 
   
   
   
   
3. once done topping the pizza put in the oven for 12-15 minutes; enjoy!

easy vegan pizza with homemade crust

one homemade crust

ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour (Red Mill)
1/4 cup unbleached white flour (Red Mill)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dry active yeast
1 cup hot water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar



how to:

*preheat oven to 425 degrees F
1. measure out the two types of flour and put into a mixing bowl, add yeast & salt then mix with wooden spoon
2. add in the hot water, olive oil and sugar, stir with wooden spoon until becomes to form a smooth sticky ball then finish off using your hands to mix it all together well (about five min total)



3. cover the dough with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let rise for 1.5 hours in a warm room
4. it won't rise too much but you basically let it rise to your desired size. after the first 1.5 hours you punch down the bubbles and you can let it rise for up to another 1.5 hours (really depends on the time you have and size you desire)
5. to form the dough after rising hold the dough in your hands and using the back of your hand rotate and flatten it into a disk (or just set ball onto floured surface and use your finger to strech edges to right size
6. once you get it to the thickness you desire and it seems like its about to tear place it into your pizza pan and it should be around 13 inches in diameter
7. i added the toppings below

quick tomato-veggie pizza toppings

[*from BiG VEGAN by robin asbell]
i switched up some ingredients so it is a slightly modified version

ingredients:

2 cups kale, chopped
1/4 cup tofu "cream cheese"
2 garlic cloves, choopped
1 pinch of salt
1 large tomatoe (or 12 small cherry tomatoes, halved)
4 baby bella mushrooms, sliced





"sour cream" incase you didn't know what it looks like- get it at your local Cub!


how to:

1. in a medium bowl, mix together the spinach, "cream cheese", garlic, and salt.
2. spread the mixture on the crust



3. sprinkle on the veggies and bake until golden brown 15-20 mins


4. slice and serve hot