Thin Crust Pizza ... from scratch (low-fat)

My tryst with making pizza at home was confined to buying the crust, sauce and vegetables from a store and then assembling them all and baking them in the oven. I had the inertia to not venture into this unknown territory of pizza crust preparation. Well thanks to my friend who bolstered my confidence by giving this simple wonderful recipe for making the crusts. You ought to try it out to see how simple this recipe actually is...

Ingredients for crust

1. 1 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1 cup bread flour or 1 cup hi-gluten flour
3. 1/4 tsp quick rising yeast
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1/2 tsp olive oil

Preparation

1. Mix all the above ingredients
2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough is really soft and does not stick to the sides of the container.
3. Continue to fold, press and stretch (kneading) with your hands for another 5 minutes.
4. Close the container and let it rest for 5-6 hours

Pizza dough

Ingredients for the pizza

1. Tomato pizza sauce (store bought)
2. Mozzarella cheese 1 cup ( or as per your taste)
3. Broccoli - 1 cup
4. Pineapple cubes - 1 cup
5. Zucchini - sliced 1/2 cup
6. Capsicum - sliced 1/2 cup

Preparation

1. Once the dough has risen knead it gently for another 1-2 minutes.
2. Smear the dough in some whole wheat flour and roll it into a disc shape with a rolling pin
3. Place the rolled out pizza in a perforated pizza pan (check out how it looks like here
4. Spread a layer of tomato sauce
5. Decorate the veggies on top of the tomato sauce layer
6. Add the mozzarella cheese lastly.
7. Pre-heat oven to 450 F
8. Place the pizza pan and let it bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese melts.

You can add cheese while making the dough for the crust. Options to modify the crust to give different flavors are endless. Let your imagination be your guide.

If you have tried a herb crust or other variations, share with us.
Enjoy your pizza !