Pizza Chill

The weather today was chilly! Like a flighty adolescent, spring is appearing in stops and starts. Today could be considered a stop, as it was chilly and windy all day long! Rain would spit for awhile. Then it would stop and the sun would shine, only to trade places with the rain again after a little while. Our walk at the track was brisk today! We started at the widest edge of the tarmac and were thankful that each lap thereafter was just a bit shorter.

After our walk we came home to warm up and decided to bake pizza for supper. It seemed like just the right comfort food for a chilly day. Crusty, homemade dough, marinara sauce, and stacks of vegetables, mushrooms, and olives created a comforting, savory, vegan pizza pie. It hit the spot!

Would you like the recipe? Maybe it would help one of your chilly, spring days seem a little less dreary.

Pizza Dough

In mixer with a dough hook, combine:

1 1/3 cups water, warm
2 tsp. yeast, fast rise
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 - 3 1/4 cups unbleached white flour

Mix until ingredients are all blended. No need to knead. Remove bowl with dough from mixer stand. Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes so it can rise. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Then, pinch off a lump of dough about the size a softball. Form into a smooth roll. The dough will be sticky, but if you wet your hands the dough won't stick to them and you'll be able to work the dough. Then, place the dough on a baking stone that's sprinkled with cornmeal. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough thinly on the stone. Pinch edges of dough to create rim. (Recover the remaining dough for another pizza).

On the rolled pizza dough, spread a layer of marinara sauce. Then, add chopped green peppers, black and green olives, and mushrooms. If you wish, you can also add chopped onions, mock duck (gluten bits), or Baco-Bits. 

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Add a layer of chopped, fresh tomatoes. 

Enjoy! Guaranteed to warm up your day!