homemade thin crust mushroom pizza!

homemade thin crust pizza! a photo by moreMirchi on Flickr.

My first pizza - very exciting. Even though it doesn't look like a prize it sure tasted good :) ofcourse, also more so since I made it! I made the pizza dough with a mix of wheat and white flour which made the dough a bit dry. Next time, I'll try with all white flour.

Makes 2 large individual sized pizzas

Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup luke warm water + a little more to help knead

In a big bowl, mix flour, salt and yeast. Then add the oil and water and knead for a good 4-5 mins until it forms a smooth ball of dough. Use a bit more water if the dough is too dry.

Rub the bowl with olive oil, place the ball of dough back in, cover and let sit in a warm place for a couple of hours. Longer the better until the ball has roughly doubled in size. I heated my oven to 200 deg and then shut it off to place the dough in.

After a couple of hours, gently massage the ball of dough with the palms of your hand. Then place it back in the bowl and let sit for another 20 mins.

Now, gently roll out the dough. Use your hands to stretch the dough into a rough circular or rectangular shape. The point is to get it evenly thin.

Tomato sauce
1 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves crushed and minced
1 tsp oregano and thyme
1/2 cup water

In a saucepan, heat a tbsp of olive oil and cook garlic until lightly browned. Add tomato, dried herbs, water, salt and pepper. Cook down the mixture to about 1/4 cup. Now add wine and cook down the tomato mixture to about 1/4 cup.

Pizza toppings
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 cups of grated and/or thinly sliced cheese, I used a mix of Manchego and Pecorino

Assembling the pizza
Preheat oven to 500 deg. Sprinkle a bit of corn flour on a baking dish lined with aluminum foil and place the pizza dough on it. Spread the tomato sauce, mushrooms, cheese and onions. Bake for 10 mins or so until the crust is browned and crispy and the cheese is lightly bubbling. Serve with salad.