Pizza with red pepper paste and mozzarella
December 21, 2010 • Category: Savory Pastries
Anybody who adores carbs, and that includes pizzas, breads, rolls, croissants and the like, comes to the conclusion that gobbling up pizzas from the neighborhood pizza parlor is a bad habit that needs to be tossed out.
OK. So what about making a pizza at home, from scratch?
In under 30 minutes? with much less fat and sodium than the one ordered online.
I made a pizza tonight and it took me less time than to actually wait for it to be delivered from the pizza parlor. You can too.
INGREDIENTS:
- For the pizza crust:
- 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (organic if possible)
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 Tablespoon of instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 cup of lukewarm water (or more, as needed)
MAKE THE CRUST:
- Place the flours in the bowl of a stand-in mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt and mix for 15 seconds.
- Pour 4 ounces of warm water into a measuring jug, add the yeast and sugar and mix with a spoon. Place the jug in the microwave or someplace warm and free of drafts. Let the yeast proof for 5 minutes. When the mixture has doubled in size and bubbled up, remove from the oven and pour into the mixing bowl into the flour mixture. Add the two tablespoons of oil and start mixing slowly, adding more warm water (about another 1/2 cup) until the dough starts to form. Increase the speed of the mixer and if the dough is too dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together well and feels elastic. Stop the mixer, remove the dough and knead it for a few seconds on a work surface sprinkled with a couple of tablespoons of flour if the dough is still sticky.
- Place the dough in a mixing bowl with two tablespoons of olive oil, flipping it around so that it is covered with oil; cover the bowl with a towel, place it in the oven or a warm place and let the dough rise for one hour or longer.
- When the dough has inflated, plop it onto the work area, and punch it down a few times, kneading it briefly to remove all the gases from it (bubbles in the dough). Cut the dough into three equal pieces. If only making one pizza, place the other pieces in a freeze bag to use another time and store in the freezer.
- Take the one piece of dough and flatten it with your fingers. Grease the pizza pan and keep flattening the pizza crust, holding it with your fingers to let it hang and stretch naturally. Eventually, the dough will stretch out and you will be able to fit it into the pizza pan. This will take less than 4 minutes.
PIZZA TOPPINGS:
- 1 cup of muhammara or red pepper paste in a jar
- 1 white onion, sliced in rings
- 1/2 cup of chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 Tablespoons of dried zaatar ( whole leaf) or oregano
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 8 ounces of part-skim shredded mozzarella
- 4 ounces of smoked ham or coppa or Armenian basturma (if using it, fry for one minute first)
METHOD:
- Slather the cup of muhammara (I used some leftover) or red pepper paste from a jar onto the crust. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley. Place the smoked ham or cooked basturma onto the pepper paste. Sprinkle the shredded cheese, the zaatar or oregano and a couple tablespoons of olive oil all over the pizza.
- Bake in a preheated 550F oven for about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Comments
48 Comments • Comments Feed
LimeCake says:
I love making pizza at home from scratch! And you know that no one’s spat on your pizza. lol. I recently tried pan frying pizza dough. That worked really well. I really like the toppings you’ve chosen for this. Great flavours!
On December 21, 2010 at 1:15 am
Sofia says:
Can’t wait till I try this!
On December 21, 2010 at 1:36 am
Katerina says:
First of all I love pizza. i could eat this stuff everyday. I would definitely choose pasturma and I have already made a pizza with this beautiful thing couple of weeks ago. Pasturma and soutzouki salami remind me very much of my grandmother. She used them a lot. I love both.
On December 21, 2010 at 1:40 am
Dana says:
That certainly sounds like a healthy tasty pizza!
On December 21, 2010 at 1:51 am
Sonia says:
Homemade and healthy pizza, is the best to serve our family members!
On December 21, 2010 at 2:50 am
Cherine says:
What a great pizza, love the addition of muhammara!
On December 21, 2010 at 3:44 am
Priya says:
Absolutely a healthy at the same time delicious pizza..
On December 21, 2010 at 5:22 am
MyLittleExpatKitchen says:
I’ve never had pizza with whole wheat flour. I’m going to try this Joumana since I love pizza and you had me at “healthy”.
Magda
On December 21, 2010 at 6:15 am
Murasaki Shikibu says:
Muhammara sounds very enticing!
On December 21, 2010 at 7:17 am
peter says:
I;’m going to have to work in some wholewheat flour into my pizzas, I already do that with bread. The Za’atar appears again and it’s most welcome!
On December 21, 2010 at 7:18 am
Mark Wisecarver says:
Excellent! Must mention…takes most modern electric ovens 1 hour to heat to 550.
On December 21, 2010 at 7:35 am
Zara says:
Omg, truly a Queen of Pizzas! 😀 Never tried making pizza by myself but this recipe will be the first for me to start with! Looks so appetizing!
On December 21, 2010 at 8:06 am
T.W. Barritt says:
I had great luck with pizza made at home this summer. I would top it with tomatoes and zucchini from the farms. Thanks for the quick Whole Wheat recipe – I much prefer a whole wheat pizza dough.
On December 21, 2010 at 8:57 am
5 Star Foodie says:
This pizza looks awesome, love the healthy crust with whole wheat and an excellent choice of toppings!
On December 21, 2010 at 9:33 am
Natalie says:
I’m gonig to try this as my pizza bases always end up too soggy or like pastry!! Will do it with roasted aubergine slices instead of ham..
On December 21, 2010 at 11:54 am
Eve@CheapEthnicEatz says:
Have not attempted my own crust in so long, will have to give this a shot.
On December 21, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Claudia says:
I need to try this – I seldom make pizza – am a true lazybones at heart. Love the wheat flour in this – nutty texture? The toppings are wonderful and this is indeed a healthy – but gorgeous pizza!
On December 21, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Ameena says:
I am one of those people who “adores” carbs! But until they find a gluten-free version of pizza crust that doesn’t taste like carboard I will have to stick to my pizza-free existence. This looks delicious though! I love the red pepper paste idea…
On December 21, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Diane says:
I have just finished dinner and now my mouth is watering 🙂 Diane
On December 21, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Sweet Artichoke says:
Waow, you are preparing the base of the pizza like a real Napolitan pizzaiola!! Amazing! It sounds delicious with the muhammara on top!
There is an award for you on my blog 🙂
On December 21, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Joan Nova says:
Count me in as a carb lover. This pizza looks delicious!
Happy holidays to you and your family.
On December 21, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Azita says:
My family loves pizza and it would be great to make our pizza at home. This looks healthy and delicious.
On December 21, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Susan says:
That looks incredibly delicious! The dough and toppings sounds wonderful. We stay away from pizza most of the time and only splurge on rare occasions.
On December 21, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Jen_from_NJ says:
I love making pizza at home. I will try your recipe. I love that you used whole wheat flour and muhammara!
On December 21, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Oui, Chef says:
I LOVE homemade pizzas, and the flavors on this one are screaming my name, it sounds perfect! – S
On December 21, 2010 at 10:22 pm
janet says:
Muhammara on pizza? Now you’re talking! Yum!
On December 21, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Maria @ Scandifoodie says:
I love it! What a great recipe! Happy Holidays!
On December 22, 2010 at 12:06 am
Jeannie says:
Oh my, this pizza looks so good! I love thin crust pizza cos I find I can eat more pieces:D
On December 22, 2010 at 1:11 am
Amanda says:
Homemade pizza is a family favourite here, on a Friday night. Too easy to make and loads better and cheaper than anything from a shop. And yet another thing that I an sprinkle with my favourite – zaatar!
On December 22, 2010 at 4:11 am
Sushma Mallya says:
tempting…
On December 22, 2010 at 7:19 am
Jamie says:
I often make pizza at home and we all love it. I have made Turkish pizza but I am so loving your Lebanese toppings that i want to try this next. Fabulous flavors and an exciting pizza!
On December 22, 2010 at 7:22 am
Joanne says:
I’ve been trying to eat healthy to make up for the impending holiday diet disaster and this sounds like the perfect way to do it! Delicious.
On December 22, 2010 at 9:23 am
Cathy says:
Your pizza goes together so quickly and looks so delicious. I love the addition of whole wheat flour to your crispy crust. Homemade is always the best.
On December 22, 2010 at 9:29 am
TastyTrix says:
I do love carbs but oh, how they hate my hips … whatever, you only live once. That’s what Spanx are for. Making pizza at home is one of the great pleasures of life, don’t you think? I absolutely adore how thin your crust is, truly a thing of beauty.
On December 22, 2010 at 11:31 am
Devaki says:
Dear Joumana – That looks SOOOO good that you make me wanna cuss! I have to make this and though I always make my pizza crust at home, I am always afraid to get on weighing scale the next morning 🙂 But what’s one more day of gluttony after all that is coming up this week, eh?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS Dear Joumana –
Chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
On December 22, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Camille says:
I love making pizza at home, and I haven’t done it in a while. Thanks for the reminder! Your toppings sound delicious!
On December 22, 2010 at 2:16 pm
SYLVIA says:
This is a healthy way to add color to a plate loaded with antioxidants and fiber.
Making pizza dough from scratch is really cool, and definitely worthed. this is an appetizing gourmet pizza that you fell good about feeding your loved ones by incorporating ingredients such as whole wheat pizza dough. I like how it gets a wake up call from basturma, that garlicky and spicy crust that forms on the sides of the meat we call it the chaman paste.
Carbohydrates are very important part of a healthy diet, they provide the body’s main source of energy, the nervous system, blood cells and the muscles. Whole grains are high in fiber which help you feel satiated. It also adds bulk and texture, slows down the digestion so that you stay full longer.
People who eat carbohydrates like whole grains actually weigh less than those who avoid them. As always portion size is crucial, you need to watch your portion size.
On December 22, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Joumana says:
@Sylvia: Always a pleasure and an honor to get comments on my recipes from a professional in the field of nutrition and a gourmet. Thank you so much!
On December 22, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Namitha says:
Homemade is the best…my kids stopped liking the store bought ones these days 😉
On December 22, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Kathy says:
This pizza looks wonderful. I love the idea of the whole wheat crust. I love making zaatar pizza. So yummy!
On December 22, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Juliana says:
I love homemade pizza, yours look beautiful…so tasty and love the idea of using whole wheat flour for the dough 🙂
On December 22, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Barbara says:
I’m definitely a carb lover who could easily fall in love with this pizza.
On December 22, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Lena says:
this looks great and loves the idea of the wholewheat
On December 23, 2010 at 5:58 am
Christine Beach says:
This is a healthy way to add color to a plate loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Making pizza dough from scratch is really cool, and definitely worthed. this is an appetizing gourmet pizza that you fell good about feeding your loved ones by incorporating ingredients such as whole wheat pizza dough. I like how it gets a wake up call from basturma, that garlicky and spicy crust that forms on the sides of the meat we call it the chaman paste. Carbohydrates are very important part of a healthy diet, they provide the body’s main source of energy, the nervous system, blood cells and the muscles. Whole grains are high in fiber which help you feel satiated. It also adds bulk and texture, slows down the digestion so that you stay full longer. People who eat carbohydrates like whole grains actually weigh less than those who avoid them. As always portion size is crucial, you need to watch your portion size.
On December 24, 2010 at 2:40 am
Grapefruit says:
I’m guilty of ordering out instead of making pizza at home & have been on the look out for an easy & healthy recipe for a long time. thanks for sharing !
On January 11, 2011 at 2:37 am