thin crust margherita pizza with olives and fresh basil specially for my daughter and her father :)

I had seen this pizza base recipe in one of the gourmet books at my daughter's kindergarten's waiting room ,i was just waiting for her and suddenly i grabbed this book which was lying on the table and as i went through the book i found the margherita pizza recipe though the topping was of spinach and feta ,quite different unlike my hubby and  daughter's choice ,but the base recipe was quite interesting ,till now i never tried anything with wholemeal flour and so i thought  i should give it a try .I changed the topping as per my family's need as they just love the margherita pizza with loads of cheese and tomato flavour but my hubby also likes olives a lot,so i added olives and  we just loved this pizza,my daughter was super excited and was standing near the oven all the time eagerly waiting for her favourite pizza,she literally had no patience ,she wanted to have it as soon as possible and im glad it turned out awesomely good , and in no minutes we all filled our tummy :),i had a perfect sunday lunch and dinner with my daughter and her father on this father's day occassion.Sending this over to chaitra's lovely bread mania event.

( makes 2 medium size pizzas )

ingredients for wholemeal thin crispy crust pizza base :

11/2 cups wholemeal plain flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

7 g sachet dried yeast

2 tbsp  oil ( i used olive oil )

1/2 cup hot water

ingredients for toppings :

1/2 cup canned  chopped tomatoes

1/2  cup pasta sauce /pizza sauce ( i used store bought )

1/2 cup pitted olives,optional ( adjust  more or less acc to your taste buds )

4 cups shredded mozerella cheese 

few fresh basil leaves broken by your hands ( optional )

salt to taste

black pepper pwd to taste

olive oil as per required

method :

Combine oil and water together.Mix flour and salt in a bowl,sprinkle yeast ,make well in centre ,add the combined oil and water mixture and make a dough.Sprinkle some dry flour on a dry clean surface and knead the dough for 10 mins or until smooth and elastic.Oil a bowl and place the dough into it and cover it nicely.Keep in some warm place  for about 1/2-1 an hr or until it is double in size.Knead the dough again for few mins till it is smooth enough.Divide the dough into two , grease two pizza trays ( i used one portion for lunch and refigerated the other portion and used  for dinner again ),first roll out one dough large enough to cover the pizza pan( approx 25cms round ) ,meanwhile the second portion keep it covered with a clean kitchen towel,sprinkle some semolina (rava ) on the greased pizza pan and place the rolled dough,brush it with little olive oil,spread the pasta sauce,little shredded cheese,chopped tomatoes,olives,basil leaves and again some cheese ,drizzle some olive oil and bake in moderately hot oven ( approx 200c) for 15-20 mins or till done.

veggie delight

Pizzas are one of our favourite junk foods,this was my first experience to make pizza base at home,usually i get the ready made base from outside and top it with my favourite veggies and loads of cheese and have it but one of my friends here,she called us for pizza party one day,and man...her pizza was just mouthwatering ,it was  same as pizza hut 's pizzas,since then i had to try at home and so i took the recipe from her,but i really didnt dare to make the base at home,i was somehow not so confindent to make ,i m really bad at baking but finally i took some courage and tried,and i had a gala time making pizza ,it was real fun and i was glad it turned out super kewl,it was a large pizza  and at the end of the day we 3 just cherished every bite of it,though my daughter is fond of margharita pizzas,that day when i was making pizza i had all my fav veggies but was having very little cheese left,still she was so excited to see the home made pizza ,tht she had to take few bites of it.Soon im gonna try a margharita one for my princess.I would like to thank my friend rashmi ,i wonder why she is not taking her cooking seriously and feeling lazy to start her own food blog.

ingredients for the pizza base /dough  :
( 1 large pizza )

1 cup wheat flour ( aatta/chapati flour)

1 cup plain flour ( maida)

2 tsp instant dried yeast

3 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup hot water

for topping :
11/2 cups bite size veggies ( onions,paneer,broccoli,olives,red bell peppers,capsicum ,sweet corn kernels ,etc ).Toss all the veggies in 1 -2 tsp of olive oil and season it with salt and pepper and keep aside.

method :
In a mixing bowl add both the flours and salt.Make a well in between,add oil,sugar,hot water and sprinkle yeast,mix that portion which will form a sponge kind of thing in the centre .Leave aside for 20 mins,after that add enough required water and make a soft dough.Knead again for atleast 10 mins.Oil a bowl and place the dough in it,flip the dough  so that it is oiled all over.Cover and let it rise for approximately 2 hrs or till it is doubled in size ,now punch it down and turn the dough in slightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins till it becomes elastic,if you press the dough it should bounce back and leave no indentation.Grease the baking sheet with little olive oil and sprinkle little rava ( coarse semolina ) all over.Preheat the oven to 200 c for atleast 15 mins .Place the dough on the baking sheet,strtch and pull the dough with your hands to give the circular shape with the centre being thin and gradually thickening towards the edges.Rest it for 10-20 mins for the final rise.Spread the pizza sauce/pasta sauce/tomato sauce all over the base,followed by loads of mozerella cheese or any of your favourite cheese combinations,the veggies,also you can drizzle some amount of olive oil on veggies again ( though i didnt use )  and some more cheese.Bake for 15-20 mins or till the cheese has melted and have some brown spots or till the edges have browned,please keep checking if you need a crispy pizza crust ( sometimes it depends on your oven type ).If required reduce the oven temperature to 180 c.Let it sit for 2-3 mins before cutting down,serve with your favourite drink and njoy !!