Contents
How easy it is to make just one call and order a large hot pizza with a crispy crust right home. However, there is one catch here. Instead of an appetizing treat, you can find deceived expectations in a cardboard box. But homemade pizza will never disappoint. Today we will tell you how to cook pizza simply and without extra effort. And at the same time, we will share proven recipes for every taste.
Pizza with a secret
The predecessor of everyone’s favorite open pizza was a closed pizza-calzone. We suggest starting with it. We dilute 25 g of “live” yeast and 2 tsp of sugar in 100 ml of warm water, cover the bowl with a clean towel and wait for the foam to appear. Then separately sift 500 g of flour with a slide. We make a recess and pour into it 5 tbsp. l. olive oil, the approaching sourdough, another 150 ml of warm water with 1.5 tsp. coarse salt. We knead the dough and leave it to rest for a couple of hours in the heat.
We roll out the dough into a round thin layer. We cut 100 g of chorizo sausage into thick circles, spread it on half of the base. Add rings of chili pepper and slices of fresh tomatoes. Sprinkle everything with grated hard cheese on top. Close the filling with the second half of the dough, sprinkle with olive oil and send it to the oven for 20 minutes at 180 °C. Serve the ruddy calzone with a spicy tomato sauce.
The irresistible “Margarita”
In Italy, the most popular pizza was and remains “Margarita”. The recipe includes bright red tomatoes, snow-white mozzarella and green basil. Just like the colors of the national Italian flag. Patriotic and very tasty.
In 180 ml of warm water, we dilute 1 tsp of sugar and 0.5 tsp of dry yeast, leave for 10 minutes. As soon as the dough has foamed, sift 280 g of flour with a pinch of salt into it, knead the dough. At the end of kneading, we introduce 30 ml of olive oil and let the dough stand in the heat for an hour.
We pass the finely chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add 70 g of tomato paste, salt and sugar to taste, 100 ml of hot water. Simmer the sauce until it thickens. We roll out a round tortilla from the dough, grease it with sauce, spread 100 g of mozzarella in circles and 8 cherry tomatoes in halves. We send the pizza to the oven at 200 °C for 20-25 minutes. Before serving, garnish the “Margarita” with basil.
Neapolitan motifs
With no less pleasure, Italians eat Neapolitan pizza. It is called Italian in other countries. The main highlight is the combination of fleshy juicy Italian tomatoes of the San Marzano variety and tender mozzarella di Bufala-a soft cheese based on buffalo milk.
We will prepare the dough with yeast, as in the previous recipes. When it properly increases in volume, we roll out a flat cake with thick edges and a thin middle, immediately sprinkle with olive oil. We cut 80 g of tomatoes in their own juice, spread them on the base and add a little salt. Spread the mozzarella slices on top, sprinkle with chopped basil and sprinkle with olive oil again. Preheat the oven to 250 °C and put the pizza pan on for 10-15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle it with parmesan shavings.
Nothing extra, just salami
Pepperoni is another famous Italian pizza with sausage and cheese. And this is also the name of a special kind of salami, which is the main ingredient.
As usual, we will knead the yeast dough. And we will make the sauce like this. Mix 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1.5 tsp of honey, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tsp of fresh chopped basil and oregano, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Be sure to let the sauce brew for half an hour.
We roll out a tortilla from the dough and grease it with sauce. Rub 150 g of any hard cheese on a coarse grater, sprinkle the base liberally. We cut the salami into thin circles and spread it beautifully over the entire surface. The edges of the dough are lubricated with vegetable oil. We put the pizza on a baking sheet in a preheated oven to 200 °C for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool down a little and serve it to the table.
Chicken in pineapples
White meat, juicy pineapples and hard cheese are a harmonious combination that looks very appetizing on a thin flatbread. For it, we will need about 500 g of yeast dough.
Tomato sauce for pizza with chicken is suitable. Put 200 g of canned tomatoes in a blender, whisk in mashed potatoes, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of oregano, salt and black pepper to taste. Rub the chicken fillet with salt and spices for poultry, fry until golden brown on all sides, cut into slices.
Roll out a flatbread from the dough, thickly lubricate with tomato sauce and sprinkle with any grated cheese. We spread chicken slices and pieces of canned pineapples mixed together. Bake the pizza at 180 °C for 20 minutes. Serve it slightly cooled, garnished with fresh herbs.
A bird in a vegetable nest
Here is another variation of chicken pizza – with tomatoes, cheese, pickled cucumbers and red onions.
Boil the chicken fillet, cool and cut into pieces. The sauce this time will be creamy. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan and dissolve 1 tbsp of flour in it. Constantly stirring with a whisk, pour in 200 ml of cream. Add salt, black pepper and nutmeg to taste. Simmer the sauce over low heat until thickened.
Next, cut 3-4 cherry tomatoes in halves, pickled cucumber-circles in half, purple onion-half rings. To prevent the onion from being bitter, sprinkle it with wine vinegar. It remains to collect the pizza. We roll out a flatbread from the yeast dough, grease it with white sauce, sprinkle with slices of chicken fillet and cucumbers, as well as grated cheese. We lay out the tomatoes and onions on top. Bake the pizza in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 °C. Before serving, decorate it with arugula leaves.
In the Greek style
What if you add a Greek flavor to Italian pizza? Let’s start with the tomato sauce. Remove the skin from 3-4 fresh tomatoes, scalded in boiling water and sprinkled with cold water. We transfer the pulp into the bowl of a blender along with 2-3 cloves of garlic and puree. Pour the resulting mass into a saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a handful of fresh basil and oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the sauce on low heat for 5 minutes and remove from the stove.
The finished yeast dough is rolled into a flat cake and smeared with cooled tomato sauce. Sprinkle it with crumbled feta, spread slices of fresh tomatoes, purple onions in half rings and whole pitted olives on top. We remove the pizza on a baking sheet in the oven at 180 °C for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool, garnish with basil leaves and treat your relatives as soon as possible.
As you can see, cooking pizza with your own hands is not so burdensome. So it is quite possible to do without calling the pizzeria. Moreover, it is so exciting to come up with delicious fillings-you just have to start. Find even more recipes for different pizzas, traditional and unexpected, on our website. Do you like pizza yourself? Which one do you cook at home most often? Share your favorite recipes in the comments.