How To Make A Vegetarian Pizza From Scratch

There’s only one way to make sure you’re getting a first rate vegetarian pizza with quality ingredients – do it yourself. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing most weekends for the last few years. I never tire of pizza and as far as I’m concerned Friday night is pizza night.

There’s a very good reason for this: home-made vegetarian pizza done properly is one of the most healthy and satisfying fast foods there is. There are even non-dairy cheeses for the fully vegan version, making this dish an absolute delight.

I must admit, even before I was vegetarian I never understood the idea of putting meat on a pizza. I mean pepperoni is tasty but all sausage products are major fat-fests and deeply unhealthy when you get down to it. Now they advertise these meat feasts which have minced beef and god knows what else on them. That just seems all wrong.

If you have a breadmaker this is really easy, but it’s not essential. It’s just that the breadmaker will do all the hard work in 45 minutes. So you don’t have to.

I always say this isn’t a recipe site but breaking with tradition here is my vegetarian pizza recipe. This will make two large pizzas. For the dough you’ll need:

240ml water
460grammes strong white flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 level tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 large tablespoon wholemeal flour
1 sachet of dried yeast

Mix all these ingredients together and do some serious kneading. I’m talking about a good ten minutes worth until it has a nice elastic quality. Then leave it somewhere warm to rise, covered with an oiled piece of clingfilm, for at least half an hour until it’s roughly double the size. Then back to kneading, just a couple of minutes this time, then it’s ready for the rolling pin.

Brush a little oil mixed with dried or fresh herbs (oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, whatever Italian style herbs you have around) onto two large baking trays and crank up your oven to its hottest setting. The hotter the oven, the faster it will cook.

Well, you know what to do next. I use fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted peppers, green olives and fresh basil  but I vary this every week. That’s the beauty of pizza. Sliced artichoke hearts are very nice, spinach, red onion, mushrooms. You can use dairy-free cheese or if you are fine with dairy products then mozzarella or goat’s cheese are the best.

Sling them in the oven for around twenty minutes and there you go – probably the best vegetarian pizza you’ll ever have, and most certainly the healthiest.

Tweet This Post