If you believe various “the 10 most popular dishes in the world” lists, then pizza is always one of them. In any case, I would place them in the top 10. Accordingly, many pizza recipes are circulating on the net. From now on, there will be another one for vegan pizza marinara that I’m really proud of. First, I show you a quite simple pizza dough recipe with dry yeast and 5 other ingredients. In addition to the recipe for an Italian thin crust pizza dough, there is also a very easy one for a homemade vegan pizza sauce.

(Vegan) Pizza Marinara - Recipe - plantbasedredhead.com

Former pizza disgrace

I’ve been baking pizza for decades. Yes, you read that right, decades, that’s how old I am, haha. I still remember the first pizza I baked at a friend’s house when I was about 11 years old (30 years ago! Aaah!). It was his mother’s idea who also helped us back then. In retrospect, however, I have to say that my attempts have rarely really been about pizza-pizza.

Rather, it was some yeast dough with tomato sauce and cheese (at that time it was even Gouda or something, really something, the main thing is that it is melted). And until I finally made pizza again, I couldn’t remember what didn’t go so well last time and I always started over. Laborious. Fortunately, there is now the blog, which is also my own reference work.

Almost as good as from your favorite Italian restaurant

I have succeeded in this recipe several times already. I won’t promise you that this vegan Pizza Marinara will be like from your favorite pizzeria (unless you happen to have a pizza oven at home). But: it is very close! And baked in a run-of-the-mill junk oven in a cheap village without a pizza stone or steel (yet … the steel is already on my wish list). I have eaten worse pizza in some pizzerias.

This one is nice and crispy and yet a bit soft. And can be beautifully shaped without any problems. I prepare the dough the day before (before …). This means that it has to rest for at least one night (or a whole day).

So far, I’ve let the dough rest in the refrigerator for up to three days. It was always delicious. Allegedly, the whole thing should be possible for up to seven days. However, I cannot comment on this yet, because the dough has never survived that long with me.

Favorite versions

Why the addition “vegan”? The pizza dough is vegan anyway, or let’s say: it should be. There are also recipes out there with, for example, milk in the dough. But actually, it’s vegan by default.

Of course, you can also conjure up a different type of pizza than a pizza marinara. Sometimes I also like to eat my pizza with vegan cheese, grated Mozzarella-style. But to crumble some homemade vegan feta on it is also a way for a possible delicious add-on. Or corn (forgive me dear Italian friends).

Speaking of corn on a pizza – or in a pizza: That is what I am doing with vegan pizza rolls. Be sure to try them too.

Yield: 3 pizzas

(Vegan) Pizza Marinara

(Vegan) Pizza Marinara - a simple and reliable recipe for the pizza dough and topping. Tastes almost as good as in your favorite pizzeria.

Ingredients

Pizza dough

250 ml (8.5 oz or 1 cup) warm (not hot or cold, but warm) water
1 pkg (7g or 1/4 oz) dry yeast
1 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
500 g (17 3/4 oz or approx. 4 cups) flour (see note)
2 tsp of salt

Pizza sauce (divide the amount between 3 pizzas)

approx. 300 ml (10 oz or 1 1/4 cups) tomato passata
3 tbsp olive oil
A few pinches of dried oregano
6 cloves of garlic
approx. 30 fresh basil leaves
salt
pepper

Instructions

Place the ingredients one after the other in a bowl and knead for about 10 minutes to form a smooth dough. Then shape it into a ball, put it in a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
Now divide the dough into 3 parts of approx. 260 g each and shape each part into a ball.
Brush the balls with a little olive oil and place them into a container (or in several small ones, e.g. bowls) that you cover with a lid or cling film. Let rise in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. That works for up to three days at least. There are recipes that promise even 7 days. I've never been able to take it that long, so I can't comment on that.
Take the bowl with the dough ball(s) out of the refrigerator about an hour before processing.
After half an hour, heat the oven to 250 degrees top and bottom heat (if your oven can do more, you can turn it a little hotter. If so, remember to reduce the baking time accordingly). The baking sheet is on the second from the top.
Put the oven on grill before you start shaping the pizza
Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and shape a dough ball into a pizza (just shape and do not knead again).
Place the dough disc on a piece of baking paper.
Spread the tomato passata on top, leaving a 1-2 cm thick border free. Garnish with garlic slices, oregano, olive oil and basil leaves. Also add salt and pepper.
Slide a plate under the pizza on the baking paper as a support to slide it from there onto the hot baking sheet.
After 2.5 minutes, switch off the grill function and bake the pizza for another 5 minutes at 250 C top and bottom heat (these times work with my oven. It's best to start with this and adjust a little up or down at home if necessary.)
Bake each pizza individually in the oven.

Notes

See if you can get special 00 grade pizza flour. Instead of the Italian Tipo 00, you can also use Austrian W 700 or German 550 flour which would be all-purpose flour in the US. You can also use 08/15 smooth flour W 480 or type 405 which is pastry flour in the US. The type indicates how protein and ash content relate to each other in the wheat flour. This makes a difference in baking. I've never had the muse to understand the physics behind it in more detail, just remember the essence: works.

Please note that every oven has its own peculiarities, which means that my time information may work for you or maybe it won't. Start to bake the pizza as mentioned under observation and adjust it a little with the next one if necessary. One minute up / down can make a big difference here.