It is surprising how simple and straightforward it is, to make a homemade vegetarian pizza from scratch. The taste is very fresh and it is not too much of an effort, except the kneading part for some. If you are using a stand mixer for kneading, then it is a breeze and done quickly. In the past, I always used all-purpose flour to bake pizza, and the outcome was pretty good. But I had read about how using bread flour would give it a little more texture. So I wanted to try that out.
Bread flour for Vegetarian Pizza
Bread flour has more gluten and protein than regular all-purpose flour. The high content of gluten gives the baked goods a firmer structure and allows it to stretch and rise. It was a bit of a challenge to find bread flour in the aisles of our local grocery stores. Luckily, I could order it online. King Arthur's brand has a good review from most people who use it and I was able to get that. The pizza made with the bread flour turned out really good, and I got great reviews from all at home.
Good quality yeast plays an important role and helps in the dough rising. I used Fleischmann's Classic Bread Machine Instant Yeast. Make sure the date is not expired, otherwise it will not work well. You can use the active dry yeast as well, but that needs to be bloomed. To bloom the yeast, add warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let it sit till it forms bubbles. Sometimes I bloom the instant yeast as well although not necessary. Add some portion of the flour, salt, Italian spices, and knead well. If you are using the best dough mixer to knead, the dough will be ready in about 5 minutes. However one can also knead well-using hands, but it will take longer about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a warm place. The dough will double up in size in about 30 minutes. If you use an Instant pot for fermentation just smear the instant pot with oil and place the dough in it. Use the yogurt option in normal mode for 30 to 60 minutes. You can use store-bought pizza sauce or make your own with canned tomato paste and spices. Spread the sauce and top it with mozzarella cheese and vegetables of your choice. Enjoy baking!
Vegetarian Pizza using Bread Flour
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 2 ⅔ cups bread flour or all-purpose Flour
- 2 ¼ tsp yeast 1 packet instant
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder or dried basil leaves optional
- ¾ to 1 cup water Adjust water accordingly
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Pizza Sauce
- 1 can Tomato paste 6 ounce
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ tsp Italian herbs Increase quantity if you like
- 1 tsp Honey or brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- ½ cup basil leaves fresh chopped
Others
- 1 block mozzarella cheese fresh shredded
- 1 cup vegetables fresh vegetables of your choice like bell peppers, olives, mushroom, onions, tomatoes, basil cut length wise
Instructions
To Make the Pizza base
- If you are using dry yeast add it to warm water and sugar and let it sit till it blooms. For instant yeast you can skip this step and directly add it to the dough .
- In a large bowl combine 1 cup of flour , instant yeas (or bloomed yeast) , sugar,salt and dried basil (if using) .
- Add olive oil and water and mix well.
- Add another cup of flour gradually and stir until the dough is cohesive and forms an elastic ball.
- You can use either use your hand to knead for about 10 minutes or a stand mixer for about 5 minutes. Add extra water if required to get a nice elastic dough.
- Place the dough in a bowl drizzled with olive oil and brush it completely with oil. Cover it up with a wet cloth and keep in a damp and moist place.
- When the dough doubles in size after about 30 minutes , gently deflate and knead on a floured surface.
- Roll into a thin layer and poke holes with a fork to avoid rising while baking .
- Add tomato sauce ,shredded mozzarella cheese and vegetables like bell pepper, onions,tomatoes, basil leaves, olives, mushrooms or any other of your choice.
- Preheat the oven to 425 def F and bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is fully melted.
- You can also broil for about 2 minutes to get a nice brown layer of cheese on top.
- Garnish with chopped basil leaves, red chili flakes and more cheese.Enjoy!
To Make Pizza sauce
- In a sauce pan, heat up some olive oil.
- Add chopped garlic and saute .
- Add the Italian herbs , basil and tomato sauce .
- Add water and mix well , to make it to desired consistency and simmer.
- Add brown sugar or honey and salt to taste.
- Add chopped basil leaves and mix well.
Nutrition
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Totally yummy, Nisha!
Thank you Jennifer!
Wow! The pizza looks super tempting Nisha 😋 Thanks for sharing !
Thank you dear Smitha , happy to share !
What a great looking pizza!!!!!
Thank you so much Diane!
So yummy! I love your recipe!
Wonderful to hear that , Thank you so much!
Looks so beautiful !! ❤
Thank you so much, appreciate it!
Homemade pizza dough tastes so yummy right? Your pizza looks superb! So tempting , I am drooling here!
Awww ..Thank you for such a sweet comment Sandhya!
Nisha! This pizza looks like it just came out of the oven at one of our favorite pizza places. Wow, this looks delicious! What I love most of all is how you made it vegetarian. Not only is that less expensive, but it's healthy too!
I wonder if you could make this as a gluten-free pizza somehow?
Your tip about the instant yeast versus the active dry yeast was brilliant too. That tip alone will help clear up lots of confusion. 🙂 Thank you! I love this recipe. It looks like something we could really enjoy in our home too. 🤗
Thank you so much Holly, we love vegetarian pizza at home .I haven't explored the gluten-free version yet .My kids enjoy the regular pizza better and since we make it only once in a while , would rather indulge 🙂 Glad you found the tip on the yeast useful. Happy baking ..Thanks a lot for your constant support ,truly appreciate it!
It is absolutely my pleasure to support you. And I understand exactly what you mean about indulging! We must do that sometimes, right? 🙂
This is an amazing fuss free recipe. Looks wonderful
Thank you so much!
Absolutely love the pizza, Nisha! It is soo perfectly made, I like the toppings on the pizza and fresh homemade sauce really adds touch to the pizza. Your step by step pictures and tips are really helpful. My kids would love homemade pizza. Will definitely give it a try. Thank you for the wonderful share.
Thank you so much Aarthi for the comments. Home made pizza is so gratifying to make indeed .I'm pretty sure you will enjoy making it as well. I am so glad that the pictures and tips are useful. Your comment truly made my day . Many Thanks!
This sounds yummy. I love that there's a pizza out there for everyone. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Relle. I agree this is a good choice for vegetarians and absolutely nice that there's a pizza for everyone out there! Hope you have a great weekend.
I love pizza and this vegetarian pizza looks really good. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you so much Deborah for the comments and for stopping by, appreciate it! Have a wonderful weekend.
Pizza are life ! And I am living to eat pizza. Your recipe looks amazing and taste amazingly.
I have used fresh yeast instead of instant one and replace garlic powder with finely chopped garlic.
It was perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Pizza totally is a favorite at our home as well, we can never say no to that! Good idea to use fresh yeast and finely chopped garlic, I'm pretty sure it will enhance the taste even more. I will try that combination as well . So happy to get such a wonderful comment from an expert like yourself. Many Thanks, Jean-Yves!
This is one of the best use of Bread flour and we often too make these pizzas at home. Will bookmark this recipe and try out next time
Yes indeed Anindya ! Using bread flour gives the pizza a little more structure .I would love to hear how it turns out if you try .Thank you so much for stopping by and the wonderful comment.
My hubby loves making homemade pizza and he does it in a similar way to yours. Love all the veggies you've used in the topping! The honey or brown sugar in your pizza sauce sounds interesting. Have to try that!
Wonderful to hear that Jacqueline! We love veggie pizza at home as well. The honey/brown sugar addition was a recent find for me as well. It balances out the tart flavor of the tomatoes. Thank you so much for the comments and stopping by!
Wow! This looks delicious. I haven't really tried making vegetable pizza but we're cutting down on our meat intake and would love to try this. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Will try it on Saturday. 🙂