Homemade Meatless Pizza

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather the ingredients from the list. Start with the yeast dough — it gives you a soft, fluffy pizza. In a deep bowl, put the dry yeast, sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of wheat flour. Pour in a cup of warm water. Stir until smooth and let it sit in a warm spot for 15 minutes.

2. Step 2:

   

   Sift the wheat flour to aerate it. Pour the vegetable oil into the bowl with the yeast mixture and stir. Start adding the sifted flour in small batches, mixing the dough after each addition.

3. Step 3:

   

   Once the dough gets hard to stir with a spatula, turn it out onto a floured work surface and keep kneading by hand. Knead until it stops sticking to your palms. The dough should be elastic, smooth, and soft. Put it back in the bowl, cover with a towel, and set it in a warm place for an hour.

4. Step 4:

   

   Meanwhile, prep the pizza toppings. Mushrooms make the pizza heartier and tastier. Use any mushrooms you like: cremini or wild, sautéed or pickled. I used pickled porcini. Fresh mushrooms can be sautéed with onion. If you're using pickled mushrooms, you can sauté grated carrot with finely chopped onion in a skillet to give the pizza a pleasant sautéed-vegetable flavor.

5. Step 5:

   

   For the vegetables, use whatever you like and have on hand. Wash the tomatoes and slice them into rounds or small cubes, or into wedges if they're small.

6. Step 6:

   

   Wash the bell pepper, cut out the core and seeds, and slice the flesh into strips. For a pleasant tang, you can add a little finely chopped pickle or some olives.

7. Step 7:

   

   Punch down the risen dough and move on to assembling the pizza. Roll the dough into a circle sized to your pan.

8. Step 8:

   

   Grease the pan with oil. Lay the dough into the pan, forming a small raised rim.

9. Step 9:

   

   Spread the dough with tomato paste or sauce. Arrange the prepared toppings on top, one layer at a time. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the pizza for 20–25 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the pizza.

10. Step 10:

    

    Serve the pizza. Enjoy!