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Whole Wheat flour Pizza

I heard the word “Pizza” only at the end of my teen and tasted only at 22, if I am not wrong. 

According to me, Pizza is nothing but adding load of cheese on bread and veggies or meat or even both. By the way, What is Indian Pi

I heard the word “Pizza” only at the end of my teen and tasted only at 22, if I am not wrong. 

According to me, Pizza is nothing but adding load of cheese on bread and veggies or meat or even both. By the way, What is Indian Pizza ?  (Answer at the end of this post)

I was told by an Italian friend that, the original origin of Pizza was not known; however, the modern Pizza (the one the “Hut, Papa and Dom’s” selling and the one I’m going to bake) is invented & Popularized by Italians. If anyone knows more stories about Pizza, welcome to share.

It’s my Son’s favorite, I am sure not only mine. But, my husband always worried about the ingredients (Pizza  Base is of processed Carbs.) in it. I could convince both Son and Father by making this “Healthy” version of Pizza. –  A Win – Win situation !!. 

Okay……..Lets move in to Kitchen.  It may take about 60 min.

Make sure you have all the following Ingredients are available for the Pizza base. 

l-purpose flour -1 cup ; Whole Wheat flour - 1 to 1 ½ cup ; Water - 1 ½ cup ; Sugar - ½ tsp.; Salt- 1 ½ tsp. ; Yeast- 1 ½ tsp. ; Egg- 1 (option) ; Olive oil -1 tbsp.  ;  Pizza sauce –1/4 cup

Following Ingredients are required for Topping. 

Onion, sliced 1 medium ; paneer (Indian Cheese) crushed- ¼ cup ; Tomatoes cut into thick strips 1medium ; Green capsicum cut into thick strips 1 medium ; Low fat Mozzarella cheese, grated - ¾ cup ; Olive oil 1 teaspoon ; Dry oregano 1/4 teaspoon ; Chili flakes -1 tsp. 

Of course, first let’s start with Pizza base…..Mix yeast and sugar with Luke warm water and set aside until it become frothy.  Thanks to the process fermentation (process that converts sugar to acids, gases)

Add salt, olive oil, egg, whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour to the yeast mixture and kneads into soft dough.

Leave the dough covered with a damp cloth in a warm place until dough is about double in volume.  It may take about forty five minutes, depends on the atmosphere temperature. Our friends yeast and bacteria, acts much faster in tropical conditions (around 100°F or 38°C).

Divide the (pizza) dough into two equal half, roll out each portion into medium thick discs. Prick with a fork all over. (If you don’t prick, Pizza base raises like a bun while you bake. Resulting, the toppings to fall)

Preheat oven to 220°C... …….Meanwhile, let’s do the topping.

Spread prepared pizza sauce on rolled pizza base, top it with sliced Onion, Paneer, Tomato, Sliced Olives and Capsicum strips. Finally sprinkle grated low-fat mozzarella cheese to evenly cover the pizza top. 

Sprinkle chili flakes on top with olive oil. Place it on greased ovenproof tray and bake in the preheated oven at 220°C until the pizza base is crisp and the cheese melts and starts bubbling.  (May take about twenty minutes) Remove from oven, sprinkle with dried Oregano and serve hot with preferred sauce.

Specially, in the cold weather and rainy evenings, Pizza will be my ultimate choice. 

For meat lovers, can add thin sliced Grill chicken, Smocked Sausage, Tuna Chunks, Boiled minced meat.

Hope, this post helps to make healthy pizza. Do let me know if you like it. 

Answer to the Quiz :  Uttappam.  It’s pretty close to pizza. Thick base with veggies (without cheese) topping !  Did you ever tried Uttappam with the above (Pizza) topping ? If not, it’s worth trying.

Pull apart bread with Schezwan paste and veggie.

Pull apart bread with Schezwan paste and veggie.

I decided to bake Pull apart bread with Schezwan paste and veggie for We Knead To Bake #14 challenge. Thanks to Aparna for the opportunity. 

Pull Apart Bread is nothing but bread that can be “pulled apart” for individual servings. It can be made in different variations by different stuffing’s like, Cheese, herbs, Veggies or even a fruits / Chocolate. It’s also widely known as Monkey Bread.

In order to give a Chinese punch, thought of stuffing veggies with Schezwan paste. It’s also spicy too. 

Before going into it, can you guess the Indian bread, close to this? (Answer at the end of this post)

Let’s split the process in to two, one is the Dough (for bread) making another preparing the stuffing. 

Following Ingredients are required for the Dough:  1/2 cup warm milk ;  1 tsp sugar  ;  2 tsp active dry yeast  ;   2 3/4 to 3 cups all-purpose flour  ;  1 tsp salt  ;  25 gm butter, soft at room temperature  ;   3/4 to 1 tsp garlic paste  ;   3/4 cup milk (a couple of tbsp to brush over the bread)

Ingredients are required for  the Filling:  15 to 20gm melted butter brushing  ;  Onion  strips -1 big  ;   Capsicum strip -1  ;   Carrot strip -1  ;  Schezwan paste -1 tbsp   ;  Tomato sauce -2 tsp  ;   Oil- 1tsp  ;  Salt –to taste

Lets make the preparations for filling,  sauté onion in a pan with oil, later add carrot, Capsicum strips sauté about 3min add schezwan paste, salt and tomato sauce sauté about 4min. keep aside let it cool.

Meanwhile, let’s start the dough preparation (for bread). 

Dissolve the sugar and the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm milk. Keep aside for about 5 minutes till it become frothy.

Add salt, softened butter, garlic paste in the bowl and mix it well and add yeast mixture, 3/4 cup of milk and 2 cups of flour knead till soft, smooth and elastic / pliable dough which is not sticky.

Add a little extra flour if dough is sticking, but only just as much as is necessary.

Shape the dough into a ball shape, coat it completely with oil.

Place it in a well-oiled bowl and Cover with damp cloth. Allow it rise for about 60 to 90 min or until almost double in volume.

Meanwhile, Grease the loaf tin and dust with flour.

Deflate the enlarged dough; divide in to 12 small balls.

Take a ball and roll it about 5’’  oval shape and brush it with melted butter and keep 1 tbsp filling and seam it with a fork or with your fingers. (Just like making “samosa” If it over filled, bread may not rise well) and keep it grease loaf tin. Make sure the seamed portion facing up.

Similarly, Do the same with the rest and arrange one by one like an array.

Cover the loaf tin with damp cloth for second raise for about 45 min. lightly brush with some milk over the top of the loaf, to give a good texture to the bread.

Keep the loaf at preheated oven and Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 30 to 40 minutes until it’s done.

Now, the bread can be Pulled Apart for individual serving and taste Awesome with spicy Schezwan paste. My son loves it with Mayonnaise dip. 

Fudgy Brownies.

After posting consecutive Bread Recipes, My taste bud demands the Chocolates.  As a result, Fudgy Brownies.

Brownies, falls between  cake and Cookies can be made either soft or hard and Like Fudge, can be made in different variation (using fruits, nuts, chocolate chunks etc) also  used for Ice-cream topping.

I do not know the origin of Brownies but I know, it’s quite popular in US. It’s my favorite too. Since, I like the bitterness of Chocolate, I prefer to use bitter (sweet) chocolate but semisweet also can be used.

Is there any Indian sweet, that closely match the Brownie?  (Answer at the end of this post)

Let’s take our ingredients………..  100 g of  Butter (unsalted)  butter, cut into pieces  ;  1 Cup  (125 g) all-purpose flour  (spooned and leveled)  ;  ¼  (30 g) cup unsweetened cocoa powder  ;  ½  teaspoon baking powder  ;  ½  teaspoon salt  ;   225 gms of  semisweet  or bitter sweet chocolate, chopped  ;   1 ¼  (250 g) cups sugar  ;   3 large eggs  ;  ½ cup of mixed nuts (broken)

Lets get in to Action!

In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Put chopped chocolate and butter into a double boiler  and stir gently until the chocolate completely melted and smooth. Remove bowl from pan and allow it to cool.  (Chocolate can be melted in the microwave oven too, its bit easy and less mess)

Add sugar and mix well. Later, add eggs and mix to combine. Add flour mixture to it and mix until moistened (do not over mix) set aside.

Meanwhile, Grease a baking pan and place a parchment paper, leaving an extra length to overhang on the two sides of the pan. (Extra length helps you later, to remove the baked brownies easily away from the pan)

Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth top. Bake it in the Preheat oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. (May take about 50 to 60 minutes)

Allow the pan to cool for a while and with the help of paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; once, completely cooled, slice them to the desired size and shape by dampened serrated knife.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature and consume within two days.

Bitter Chocolate brownies are a Perfect combination with Coffee; my husband says. But, I like with Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s my son favorite post swim workout snake. Let me know your favorite combination.

Ha ! for my PURE Veggie friends, it can be done Egg less version too.  I got the following Egg Substitutes from here. But, not tried yet. if you tried, please let me know.

Silken Tofu/ Tofu  :  ( 1/4 cup blended silken tofu = 1 egg )  Process in a blender until completely smooth and creamy, leaving no graininess

Applesauce  :  (1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg or ¼ cup Applesauce + 1 tsp Baking Powder )

Soy Yogurt/Plain Yogurt  :  ( ¼ cup Yogurt= 1 EGG )

Bananas :  (½ pureed Banana, about  1/4 cup = 1 egg)

Flax seeds : (1 tbsp ground Flax seeds +3 tbsp Water =1 egg)  Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder, and mix with water. Allow it to rest till it becomes gelatinous