The sweet smell of yeast in homemade bread and slightly burnt cheese – irresistible. A combination of both with some additional ingredients gives us the ultimate flatbread called pizza. 

Pizza is to Italians what biryani is to Indian. I am no Italian but I fell in love with the simplicity of their cuisine when I began cooking. Most recipes call for ingredients that are easily available in our pantry. Such as tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and olive oil to complement all foods. 

Everyone has their own pizza recipe – here is mine

Pizza comprises 3 things – A bread, sauce, and toppings. 

Pizza Bread:

I have been failing to perfect my pizza dough for a decay. Now that I have finally figured out what to do, I decided to share it with the world. There are no 100% accurate measures for it because the consistency of ingredients is slightly different everywhere. I am going to write about what worked for me. 

They key is MILK. Remember, milk!

Ingredients:

7 cups cake flour

1 packet of 10g Yeast

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

¼ cup olive or vegetable oil

⅓ cup suji/ semolina

250 ml full fat warm milk (you might need extra)

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, add flour, salt, semolina flour, and vegetable oil. Mix them together. 
2. In another container, warm up your milk and sugar. Pour yeast and leave it in a warm place for 10-15 minutes. Sugar and milk will activate the yeast. 
3. Once yeast starts to rise, give it a whisk and leave it for 5 more minutes. 
4. Add milk ⅓ part at a time into your flour mix and kneel the dough. If you need more milk, it is wise to use warm milk. 
5. The best place to let the dough rise is in a preheated oven. Don’t forget to turn off your oven before placing your dough to rise. Keep the dough covered with a lid or cloth. 

Sauce:

Normally, pizza sauce is made with just tomatoes, onions, garlic. But I made a special sauce with additional grilled paprika. It is so delicious that I am never going back to plain old tomato sauce. 

Ingredients: 

4-6 fresh paprika pepper

2 tomatoes

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic (large) or 8 small

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. For optional paprika, I grill it to get a sweet pepper smell and charred outer skin. (You can skip it and continue with the rest)
2. Chop tomatoes, onions, and garlic. 
3. Puree all ingredients in a blender and transfer it into a saucepan. 
4. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook it over low heat for 30 minutes. 
5. You can also add a pinch of Italian herbs mix. 

Toppings:

You can throw any topping over your pizza. I once had noodles on my pizza. But I just used a store-bought pepperoni this time. 

Cheese is important of course. 1-to-3 part mozzarella and cheddar is an ideal blend. However, if you have cheddar only, make sure it’s not too strong. 

Baking:

1. The bread rises 3X in size while baking, so flat your bread according to how thick you want your base to be. 
2. Grease the pan with vegetable oil, sprinkle some semolina, and layer your pizza dough onto your pan. 
3. Let the base relax in the pan for 5 minutes before adding your pizza sauce. 
4. Next, add toppings, a generous amount of cheese, and place it in a preheated oven. 
5. Preheat 180 and bake at 140 for 20 minutes. 
6. Keep an eye on it because every oven is different. 
7. When bread is ready, turn on top coil for 5 minutes for a crispy cheese top.