Wholewheat Herbed Thin Crust Roasted Veg Pizza

Pizza these days have become a common commodity readily available in every neighborhood. There was a time when I used to survive on pizzas. Then I got into a slimming spree and had to completely do away with this dish and had even lost the craving for it. However, due to my baking stint since the past one year, I have baked so much and so many pizzas that now I can easily mould my way into healthy pizzas without much to worry about those calories. So here is a wonderful way to enjoy your pizza guilt free, to a great extent, and bask in the glory of a self baked pizza.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (Aata)

1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 cup warm water

3 tbsp warm milk

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/8 tsp instant active dry yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp dry thyme

1 tsp dry basil

For the topping

2-3 tbsp tomato based sauce (you can use regular ketchup or pasta/pizza sauce)

1/2 cup assorted bell peppers, chopped

1/4 cup baby corn, chopped

3-4 baby onions, diced

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

Few paneer cubes (optional)

1 tbsp Olive oil 

1 tsp mixed herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary, or of your choice and availability)

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

1/2 tsp pepper powder

Salt to sprinkle

Grated cheddar cheese for garnishing (as per requirement)

Direction

In a bowl, take the warm water, milk, and sugar and mix. Now add the yeast and dissolve completely and let it stand for about 10 minutes until foamy and frothy.

In another bowl, mix the flour and salt and add the dry herbs. Pour in the yeasty mix and a little oil (do not put the entire oil at one go) and knead a soft and elastic dough. Take the dough on a clean surface and knead further for about 10 minutes until smooth and soft. This is very important to release the gluten from the flour. Cover with a cling wrap and keep in a warm place for about 1-2 hours until doubled. Since it is whole wheat flour, I had kept it a little longer although the dough had doubled in 1 hour itself. Take out the dough and knead again on a clean surface for 5 minutes. Cover again with the cling wrap and keep it back in the warm place for the second proofing, about an hour. 

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a bowl, put the olive oil and the herbs and mix well. Pour this oil over the chopped veggies, onions and mushrooms and toss everything well. Ensure every piece is coated well with the herbed dressing. 

Now take out the dough and place it on a parchment paper. With the help of a rolling pin, roll it out from the center towards the sides in a uniform thickness. Spread out the tomato paste evenly on the rolled out dough. Ensure that the paste is not too heavily spread, else the dough might turn out soggy. Now sprinkle the oiled veggies covering all the corners and gaps. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper and red chilli flakes. Top it with grated cheddar cheese.

Now pre-heat the oven (do this while getting the pizza ready) at 230 degree celsius for 20 minutes. While pre-heating, place an extra piece of parchment/cookie sheet on the baking tray and pre-heat the sheet as well. This will ensure a crunchy crust at the bottom. 

Bake the pizza in the pre-heated oven at 200 degree celsius for 20 minutes until the crust is golden. Keep checking in between however for the veggies. If you feel the veggies might get burnt, adjust the temperature accordingly.