TV Hijacked On A Sunday? Well, Let Me Share My Pizza Love Story And Bake One Too

He is glued to the couch for the rest of the day today watching the hottest match of the season and being ignored, I’m finding solace in recollecting my pizza love story…

In India, cricket is not just a sport but it’s more of a religion, thankfully in which I lost interest and trust long time back, but that isn't the case with him. Once again, India is playing Pakistan today in Cricket World Cup; a match that often guarantees an adrenalin rush in fans. It is the hottest always; even finals wouldn't have that many curiously waiting for it, unless it is played between these two teams. However, what I found interesting in today’s match is that the day is so thoughtfully chosen. Valentine’s Day followed by a favourite cricket match on TV??? Indian men around the world (who are cricket enthusiasts but with spouses who are not) seemed to have comprehended the hidden motive loud and clear. They mustn't have left any stone unturned to make the lady of the house feel special, loved and happy this Valentine’s Day, all for a day of joy and peace with the TV and remote. Yes, mine too was adamant and took me to my favourite restaurant for dinner yesterday, and today seems to be working in his favour!

Now, did I mention this is just a preliminary match? But the scene at home says otherwise. He is up since 7:30 AM on a Sunday and that too on the very first call. If this is not determination, what is? The amount of time and energy that goes into waking him up on a normal Sunday is so enormous and I’m left speechless today. In fact, he got the time wrong; 7:30 was when the extra innings started, the match began around 9. But anyway, to continue on his “being the sweetheart path” and to assert his territory once again, he spent those 1.5 hours resourcefully, trying to fix a virus attack on my laptop. Thank you and you've earned the day! :)

Nevertheless, the last thing anyone, would want on a Sunday is to be denied free access to TV and yes, that’s what’s up on my cards today. I am prepared to be ignored (in fact, I am already ignored) and entertain myself – so that leads me to kitchen and writing this blog. There ends the prelude :P

My Pizza Love Story and a Kick-ass Recipe

I may be among the very few, who survived their late teen and early twenties without savouring the great Italian fantasy called Pizza. Now, when I think about it, it was definitely not because there were no pizza joints around (well, I am not that old yet), but mostly because I never developed a taste for it then or for a girl who still had to depend on her parents financially, eating out at pizza joints so that she could develop a taste did not turn out that cheap. Anyway, my journey from being a non-pizza lover to a die-hard fan of it is as exciting as any love story!

From the denial phase to those rendezvous, how it all started?

It was destined that I get married to someone who fancied this dish. The big smile that flashes on his face when the thought of pepperoni pizza crosses his mind is something I adore even today! Anyway, the early rendezvous' at PizzaHut were more of denials – he would order pizza, I would taste it then go ahead and order pasta for myself. However, with frequent rendezvous’ (yeah, almost every other week), I was falling for it slowly but steadily. Even when I tried hard to keep myself away, I think, it was bound to happen. So eventually, I had to and did develop a taste for it, to the extent that I caught up on a much faster and higher level than expected. Something my husband did not appreciate much. Initially it would takes us both to finish a large size, or I used to leave slices, which we would pack and he could eat for next day's breakfast. But soon that was not the case - I could easily hog on a large size, if at all we had a few slices to pack that had my name written on it for breakfast. There was strictly no way he could appreciate that!

Then there were signs of “breakup”

Too much of anything is boring and that’s what happened. Things started falling apart when the pizza joints could not pace up their flavour change or new launch with the frequency of my visits.  Initially, I got bored with flavours then I hated the thick bread-like crust and soon the whole combination felt like such a bad bet! For a change, I tried the thin crust version and even that didn't live up to my expectation. Eventually, I stopped eating out at pizza joints, because there was nothing new that kept me interested. Those signs finally gave way for breakup!

And then the best thing happened, and we were in love again!

I finally found the best ever pizza in town, in the country and probably, in the world. I am not exaggerating, the best, but best only to my home baked one. Hundreds of toppings to choose from, non-veg and veg, variety of cheeses, innovative flavours and all served in beautiful thin crust – every time baked to perfection, tasted heavenly and light on pocket. What more could I ask for? I fell head over heels all over again!

However, whether it is good time or bad time, time comes with an expiry date. When things were going good, it was time for me to leave the town. I wasn't hoping to get back until a few years. It did hurt and still hurts, even the very thought of it! Was that supposed to mean the end of it all?

No, that’s when I started baking pizza at home. 

It took days and even month of research and experiments to finally bump into a recipe that gave a crust similar to the one I used to love. I have always been and am good with toppings, or so I believe. Getting the crust right was the hardest channel and with my love for pizza, I could crack it finally. Yes, if you get the crust right, 80% of the work is done. So finally, these days I bake almost near to perfect pizzas at home. The person who can vouch for it is now sitting and enjoying his match!

Almost Perfect Restaurant Quality Pizza Crust Recipe

The recipe makes two large size pizzas

YOU NEED

For the crust

• Lukewarm water, 50-80 ml
• Instant dry yeast, ½ teaspoon
• All purpose flour, 1 ½ cup (these days I substitute ½ cup all purpose flour with whole wheat and it gives equally good crust)
• Sugar, 2 teaspoon + ½ teaspoon, divided
• Salt to taste
• Oil, 1 tablespoon

For the topping

For the topping I cannot really share exact ingredients or measurement, because what you add and how much you add, depends a lot on your taste. So given below is one of the toppings I usually try at home.

• Pizza sauce, about 4-6 tablespoon (I make my own, every time)
• Parmesan cheese, grated, about 2, 1/12 inches X ½ inch square (you could use cheddar, in case you cannot find this)
• Mozzarella cheese, grated, about 2, 1/12 inches X ½ inch square
• Meat, minced or pulled, about 6-8 tablespoons or more (it could be any meat like salami, sausage etc)
• Onion, about 1 large, sliced
• Bell pepper, 2 medium, 1 red and 1 yellow, cut into small cubes
• Powdered pepper, a pinch (optional)
• Italian herbs, 1 teaspoon (optional)

Again, there is no hard and fast rule here. Topping is what you would like to have, so other than sauce and cheese, feel free to experiment with other ingredients.

HOW TO

Put yeast and ½ teaspoon of sugar in lukewarm water; keep it for a while.

In a large bowl, measure the flour and mix in salt and sugar. Pour oil and mix with hand. Once the yeast mix is ready, pour it in to the flour mix and knead it well. The dough should be smooth and soft, slightly elastic. Leave it for a while. It is alright if the dough doesn’t rise, because this is for thin crust.

Gather the ingredients for topping.

When ready to prepare the crust, divide the dough into two equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll it out into a smooth and thin circle (you could make it a rectangle too), dusting with flour as needed. If you have had thin crust pizza, you’ll know what thinness to keep. If you haven’t, I suggest you eat one before trying this :P, because it is hard to give the exact inches, per say.

Preheat oven to 250 degree Celsius.

Now, I do not have a pizza stone. So what I usually do is to transfer the rolled out dough onto a greased butter paper. Once the topping is done, I will put this on the metal turntable in my oven and bake it. I also make it a point to remove the turntable before preheating.

Spread the sauce over the rolled out dough. Put a rough layer of parmesan cheese over it; do not use up all, reserve some. Arrange meat over it, followed by bell peppers and onions. Cover with mozzarella and the leftover parmesan.  Sprinkle with powdered pepper or Italian herbs.

Transfer this along with the butter paper on to the turntable. Keep it in the oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, depending on how crispy you want your base.

Half way through the first one, begin to work on the 2^nd piece – rolling out, spreading the sauce and adding the toppings, so that once you remove the first one from the oven, then 2^nd is ready to go in.

Once done, remove from oven, slice it and enjoy!

I will keep adding more images of the pizza; my husband can’t wait to cut it and have it as soon as it is out of oven, leaving me just about a couple of seconds to click.

Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (on demand)

The following recipe will make enough sauce for 4-5 pizzas.

YOU NEED

• Oil, 1 tablespoon
• Garlic paste, 1 tablespoon
• Tomato puree, 200 ml (It could be store bought or you could make it at home from about 4-6 large size tomatoes. If making at home, you need a smooth puree with no lumps)
• Salt, to taste
• Powdered pepper, 1 teaspoon
• Italian herbs, 2 teaspon
• Tomato Ketchup – 2 tablespoon (you could use tomato sauce, if you prefer it sweeter)

Now, that's the very basic set of ingredients for pizza sauce. You could add more flavours as per your taste and enhance it further. For instance, you could add - 

Bbq sauce - for a strong flavour

Lemon juice – for a tangy sauce

Dried chili flakes – for a spicier version

Basil – for earthly flavour

HOW TO

In a deep dish pan, heat oil and sauté garlic for a few seconds. Pour the tomato puree and mix well. Keep the heat at medium until it boils (as in starts giving those bubbles). Reduce heat to low and add salt to taste, pepper powder and Italian herbs. Mix well and cook until the sauce is reduced as it thickens. A couple of minutes before you turn off the heat add ketchup or tomato sauce. All other flavour enhances too can be added at this stage.

Let it cool and bottle it up. This can be refrigerated for upto 2 weeks.