No-Yeast Vegetarian Pizza

Easy "No-Yeast Pizza" is a quick and fast way of satisfying your fetish for homemade pizza!! The pizza dough is made with only yogurt and self-rising flour (OR MAKE YOUR OWN; METHOD GIVEN BELOW) and if you have pizza sauce already made or if you have a store-bought pizza sauce, your homemade pizza will be ready in minutes!!

FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup thick hung yogurt (from about 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt) or 1 cup greek yogurt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon dried oregano

FOR HOMEMADE PIZZA SAUCE:

6 fresh tomatoes

1 big onion

3 green chillies/jalapenos

2 cloves of garlic

1 carton of tomato puree (1 cup)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

PIZZA TOPPINGS:

¼ cup melted butter

1 medium onion, sliced

½ cup chopped bell pepper/capscicum

6 to 8 button mushrooms, sliced

Few olives. Sliced

1 ½ to 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Extra crushed red pepper flakes

In a blender or mixer jar, add the tomatoes, onions, green chillies and garlic and blend into a paste without adding water.

Pour this onion-tomato puree into a deep saucepan.

Add tomato puree, salt to taste, sugar, oregano, Italian seasonings and bring to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, simmer on low heat till you get a thick pizza sauce (about 15 to 20 minutes).

Thickness of the sauce is as per your preference, but do not make it too thin, or your pizza base will be soggy after baking!! Keep aside to cool.

If you do not have Greek yogurt, you can make thick yogurt from regular yogurt.

Just drain the plain yogurt in a cheesecloth over a strainer into a bowl, (to collect the whey/water), for about an hour or two.

You can place the whole bowl in the refrigerator (optional).

After 1 to 2 hours, you will have got thick hung yogurt, a good substitute for Greek yogurt!!

Preheat oven to at least 450 degrees Fahrenheit or 230 degrees Centigrade (hottest in your oven)

In a mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk or spoon (or sift).

Add the hung yogurt or greek yogurt (along with chilli flakes and oregano) and gently mix with a spoon.

Mix it till it comes together and knead on a well-floured surface till soft and pliable (about 5 to 8 minutes).

If you feel the dough is sticky, add some more flour a little a time; but as you knead, it will come together and become soft and smooth.

There is no need to rest this dough; you can make pizzas immediately!!

Grease a pizza pan with oil and sprinkle some semolina/cornmeal on top of the pan. This helps in creating a crispy crust!!

Roll the dough slightly and place on the greased pan.

Gently, spread with your hands till the edge of the pan evenly to a thin crust.

Prick with a fork all over; prevents the crust from puffing up while baking.

Bake in preheated oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, till slightly golden brown.

Cool the crust for a few minutes on a wire rack.

Gather all the pizza topping ingredients.

Layer the toppings on the pizza; sauce, some cheese, vegetable or any other toppings you have and then some more cheese.

Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes (directly on the oven rack) till the cheese has completely melted and has started to brown and the crust has turned golden brown.

Remove from oven, slice and serve hot!!

This easy dough can be refrigerated for a couple of days; just bring it to room temperature before making the pizza.

The time it needs to bake depends upon the type of oven, so bake accordingly.

The more the sauce, the softer the crust, so if you want a crispy crust, try not to use too much sauce or toppings.

Adding chilli flakes and seasoning to the crust is optional.

If you do not want to make one large pizza, you can make 2 to 3 small pizzas.