Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Vegan pizza to Daiya for


I make THE BEST pizza, if I do say so myself, and it's really pretty easy.  I could make my own crust and sauce, but I can't imagine that they would be better or cheaper than the ones I get at Trader Joe's.  I use their whole-wheat pizza dough in a bag, and their pizza sauce that comes in a little black tub.

Here's what I did last night:

1.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Oil a pizza pan (I use a 9x13 baking sheet) and pour a little pile of whole wheat flour (maybe 1/4 cup) in the middle.

2.  Take the pizza dough out of the bag and plop it down in the pile of whole wheat flour.  Let it rest for 20 or 30 minutes.

3.  Using floured hands, stretch the pizza dough until it roughly matches the size and shape of your pan.  I pick up the dough by one edge and let it stretch itself down a little, then rotate it a little and grip it by another edge and let that part stretch itself down a little, and keep repeating until it's the right size and pretty evenly stretched.  Then I lay it down on the pan and push and prod it into place until it's pretty even in thickness all over and it covers the vertical sides of  the pan. 

4.  Spread sauce evenly over the whole crust.  I only leave about a millimeter of uncovered crust around the edge.  Then mix in some finely-chopped fresh basil if you have it.


5.  Then sprinkle on some vegan cheese.  I used Daiya mozzarella-style shreds for the first time last night, and it was DELICIOUS, and really easy because it's already shredded.  I used about 3/4 of the 8-ounce package.  It has a slightly sweet taste that I wasn't quite expecting, but I really liked it.


6.  Chop up your toppings so they're all about the same size, then spread them evenly across the pizza.  Give it a good look to make sure each slice is going to get a good distribution of toppings, and make adjustments if necessary.  I used one Tofurky Italian sausage, some pre-steamed brussels sprouts seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil, some small portabello wedges brushed with olive oil, broccoli florets and a red bell pepper.


7.  Then bake for 8-10 minutes, allow to cool for 10 minutes, slice and eat! 

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