Patrick’s Vegetarian Health Pizza

A pound of dough is theoretically enough for two pizzas but actually only enough for one large one with standard crust thickness that fits our perforated pizza pan. For a proper thick crust (REAL MEN DON’T EAT THIN CRUST PIZZA!) see the following instructions.

Regular (Girlie) crust:

1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 ¼ -2 ½ cups flour
1- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt (1/2 -3/4 is enough if you are watching your sodium intake)

Thick (Manly) crust:

2 cups warm beer
2 teaspoons yeast
5 cups flour
1-3 teaspoons of salt (1 is enough to modulate the yeast)
Add sweet basil, oregano, powdered or fresh minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and or minced jalapeño and or Serrano peppers to the dough… each according to your personal preference and experience.

Add some powdered New Mexico chili peppers to color the dough and enhance the flavor. (NM Chilies aren’t real hot so don’t worry and add a tablespoon or more.)

Mix and kneed till satiny, let rise till double in size (maybe an hour depending on temps, salt, yeast, etc.)

Punch the dough down and make into a pizza shape at least a quarter inch thick or more (I prefer more) and let rise again for 15-30 minutes (until about double in thickness in most places.)

Pizza Sauce: I use Ragu spaghetti sauce augmented with crushed red peppers, sweet basil, garlic, oregano, powdered New Mexico chilies and such. If using dried mushrooms, add them to the sauce to reconstitute them. If using canned mushrooms, drain them to prevent diluting the sauce. If fresh mushrooms then do whatever.

Paint the dough with olive oil before adding sauce and toppings. When you add the sauce, ensure you get it all the way to the edges of the crust so as to make ALL the crust yummy.

Toppings: Thin sliced tomatoes (Partially sun dried are OK) thin sliced onion, thin sliced bell pepper, mushrooms, hot pepper slices (if you are a real pepper belly) Skim or partially skim mozzarella in moderation to help glue it together (works OK without) some no-fat cheddar is a good addition for variety. If you add enough hot peppers and or crushed red pepper you will hardly miss the pepperoni.

If there is any left over dough then maybe you made the crust too thin, the pizza too small, or you need to follow the instructions for using left over dough.

Instructions for using left over dough:

On a floured surface roll out the left over spiced pizza dough really really thin and then score it with a pizza cutter in a diamond shape. First cut north to south. Second cut northeast to southwest. You want the pieces to fit when draped over a muffin tin that is upside down without overlapping each other. Place the diamonds over the protrusions of inverted muffin tins (muffin pans) and bake till really crispy but not scorched. The diamonds should come off without sticking. you can also bake these on a cookie sheet but make them have a hump in them to avoid the monotony of a dead flat chip. These make a great chip substitute and are excellent for dipping a pizza-like sauce or eating as is.

Bon Apetite.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Sounds good, Pat, except I'm a meat eater and don't see any meat in your toppings. Been awhile since we made our own pizzas, but I put Candian bacon, sausage, beef, and pepperoni all on them when I do it.

My favorite pizza toppings: Sauage, Mushroom and Onion.

I eat pizza with meat on it too B U T... I was sharing a meatless recipe of potential use to persons trying to cut back. It really is a good recipe without meat on it. It doesn't suddenly get bad if you use meat. Eating the crust is good.. the crust isn't just a convenient edible serving mechanism when you use this recipe.

I didn't mention it but this dough makes killer bread sticks! It also makes a good sandwich bun! I wish I had some today at lunch when I had a veal parmesan and spaghetti with marinara sauce sandwich on rye. Left overs from an Italian feast Friday night.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

The propietor of the Pizzeria was in a quandry.

His flat bread was mixed and ready, the olive oil vendor had delivered his daily amphora, the cowman had made his daily cheese drop, fresh herbs from the garden had been picked early in the morning, onions and garlic were chopped, a wood fire was slowly preheating the brick oven, the marble cooking slab was ready but nowwhere was the fisherman with his nightly catch.

He had spent a fruitless night casting his hooks but nary a fish did bite!

The pizzeria propietor was reduced to offering the well baked flat bread with herbs, oil and cheeze and the everpresent onion and garlic.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Ah, Canadian bacon, mushroom, and olive, with a tiny squosh of thin sliced onion [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Or, if you can get a Chicago style stuffed pizza, then artichoke hearts, mushroom, and onion [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

I like roasted poblano peppers, sauteed onions, goat cheese and fresh whole milk mozzarella on mine, and sometimes, when the need for meat arises, a smidgen of finely diced proscuitto or bacon sprinkled about. Oh, yes. And topped at the end with fresh basil, and parmigiano reggiano. Yum!

I have used pizza crusts for sandwich buns. Hard to beat 'em!