Pizzas – don’t most of us love them?? Some may be concerned about the cheese that goes on top of them, but still would want to eat a slice…;) I like thin crust pizzas in general. But when it comes to mini pizzas, I am ok with the crust a little think on these little cuties!!
The recipe I am sharing today is for the basic margherita pizza. So there is no topping other than pizza sauce and cheese. And I like making these mini pizzas as an evening snack for kids as it doesn’t involve any other cutting and chopping…:) I had first tried this out for son’s birthday sometime back and the boys just loved it. It all just vanished in a matter of minutes. But feel free to add toppings of your choice and make it into a regular size pizza as well!
Few things to keep in mind
- Resting the dough: Give enough time for the pizza dough to rest and be doubled in size. Don’t be in a hurry else the base wouldn’t be as you expect it to be. Make sure to keep the dough covered in a warm place. In summers, I just put it covered in my oven. If the weather is cooler, I warm the oven for about 10 min and switch it off. And then put the dough in it.
- Yeast: Many people find working with yeast quite tricky. I use instant dry yeast for my recipes. Just make sure that the liquid you take is lukewarm – this means that if you put a drop or two on your hand, it just feel warm, but not too hot. Yeast needs a warm temperature to grow, but will kill itself if the temperature is too hot!!! In case your yeast, water and sugar mixture does not froth up and rise, then it means that either the temperature was too hot or cold or your yeast is spoiled. You should discard the mixture and try again just to make sure that the problem is not with your yeast.
Recipe
Ingredient List
- Warm Water – ¼ cup
- Yeast – 1 tsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Flour – 1 cup
- Salt – ¾ tsp
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
- Pizza sauce – As required (Recipe: https://foodtokwithsherin.wordpress.com/2020/03/21/home-made-pizza-sauce/)
- Grated Pizza Cheese or Mozzarella Cheese
Step by Step Process
- Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and mix thoroughly. Let it sit till the yeast activates and froths. The water should be lukewarm and not be too hot. If its too hot, it will kill the yeast. And if its not warm enough, the yeast won’t be activated.
- In a bowl, add the flour, salt, olive oil and the activated yeast (reserve a little water, just in case the entire quantity is not required) and make it into a smooth dough. Add the remaining water with the yeast, if the dough feels hard or it doesn’t come together properly. In case, the dough still feels dry or tight, add in just enough warm water to bring it all together into a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it to rise for 45 min – 1 hr, in a warm place. The dough should rise to almost double its size.
- For making mini pizzas, make small balls from the dough and roll them into small discs of about 1/4th inch thickness. Alternatively, divide the dough into two and roll each into about 1/4th inch thickness and then cut rounds using a round cutter or bottle cap of your desired size. (If making a large pizza, then divide the dough into 2 and roll it into 6 inch rounds)
- On each rolled disc, spread the pizza sauce first (Check recipe: https://foodtokwithsherin.wordpress.com/2020/03/21/home-made-pizza-sauce/) and then top it with the grated cheese.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 20 min, till the base is cooked through and the cheese is all melted.
- Serve hot.
