This a super easy bread machine recipe that I don't make often enough. Since discovering good frozen vegan pizza bases a couple of years back I've been super lazy. I'm totally going to make this again though soon as it is better to eat fresh than from frozen.The pictures are from 4 years ago in my little flat, when I didn't really understand good lighting or use of depth of field (large aperture does not guarantee a good photo).
Ingredients for 1 pizza or 12 doughballs:
- 225g White Bread Flour
- 3.5g Dried Yeast
- A Pinch of Salt
- 150ml Water
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pizza
Roll out to a diameter a few centimetres larger than you need. Cut meltable vegan cheese (or anything else you want to stuff it with) into strips and place in a circle 1cm from the edge. Work your way round the pizza, rolling the dough over the cheese and tucking it under, pressing down slightly to make a seal.
Blind bake for a few minutes on a heavy pan or pizza stone at 220oc. If you don't have a pizza stone yet, buy one. They cost a tenner and are great for all types of bread. Remove from oven, pierce any bubbles of air in the centre of the pizza and top as you please. Cook until done (10-15mins).
If you don't blind bake you run the risk of the topping sinking into the dough and making it soggy.
Favourite toppings: sundried tomato paste, pesto, grilled artichokes, roasted peppers, olives, vegan cheese (several types), capers, tomatoes (remove excess juice/seeds), garlic, mushrooms, olive oil, herbs.
Less is often more - tomatoes, garlic, oregano and olive oil is a simple yet winning combination:
Doughballs
Doughballs are great eaten with soup or just on their own. Divide the above dough into 12, roughly roll out each into a circle (smaller than the size of your palm) using your fingers, place a small amount of filling in the centre and fold over the sides and pinch, making a tight seal. Roll around in the hands to ensure there are no cracks. Place on the tray you're baking them on upside down, so that the seal is at the bottom.
Don't be tempted to overstuff them or they could explode, which is less exciting than it sounds.Meltable cheese and sundried tomato is my favourite filling, but garlic & herb margarine works too. I can't remember how long they need cooking for, but it's probably around 10 minutes at 220oc.
Im a big fan of homemade pizza dough, but I'm a little scared of making dough balls. For some reason I've convinced myself they are hard to make. You have made them look doable... I'm going to have to give them a chance.