Making a pizza at home always seemed like a scary task and I’ve wondered how would I be able to keep up with the restaurant quality and taste. But honestly, it’s actually fun and interesting. The aroma of a freshly baked pizza taken out of the oven is something to die for. This recipe is literally the perfect pizza dough I have made in my kitchen, have tried different measurements and finally came up with this foolproof version which gives the best results all the time.

To make a pizza dough, all you need are 6 basic ingredients. And for a full-fledged pizza, just add to the dough a base sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings. I have used a stand mixer to make my dough here, but you can always knead with your hand which is absolutely fine, although it takes more time and some extra energy.

Tips / Things to consider while making a homemade pizza

Yeast: Always use a good quality yeast for making pizza, how well your dough rises depends upon the yeast you use. When you dissolve it, check if it foams or bubbles. That’s the sign of a good yeast.

Instant or active dry yeast: The differences between these two kinds are; Texture, instant yeast has a fine texture whereas active dry yeast has a granular texture. Secondly, instant yeast can be added directly along with the dry ingredients where as active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using.

Italian seasonings: Adding Italian seasonings provide a nice aroma and flavor to your pizza dough, you would definitely love it if you are not a fan of the yeast smell.

Resting time: Dough should rest for 1-2 hrs to rise before working on it, but if you are in a hurry I would recommend allowing it to sit for at least 30 minutes. The longer the dough rests, the more softer n fluffier the pizza would be.

Prick pizza crust: Once you’ve rolled out your dough, prick with a fork before and after prebaking to prevent air bubbles from forming in the crust.

Oven rack: Always bake your pizza crust on the lower rack of your oven, especially when you are pre-baking the base crust. You can later move it to the upper rack based on how you prefer your pizza to be cooked.

Prebaking the crust: Prebaking the crust is a personal choice, although I prefer it since it cooks the crust perfectly and won’t burn your cheese. Without prebaking, sometimes the pizza turns out to be undone especially when you have more toppings.

Freezing pizza dough: Once the pizza dough has risen, you can freeze it by transferring to a freezer friendly zip top bag after squeezing out all the air. You can freeze dough for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer the dough to a refrigerator overnight before using it. Make sure to place it out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes to bring it to room temperature, before working on it.

This recipe makes one large 10–12 inch sized regular pizza or 2 thin crust pizzas.

Interested in pizza recipes? Check out my Tandoori Chicken Pizza recipe with a twist of Indian flavours.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

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Homemade Pizza Dough

A Homemade Pizza Dough from scratch, for the Perfect Crispy and Chewy Pizza Crust! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword homemade pizza, pizza dough

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 1 large 10-12-inch sized pizza

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2¾ cup all-purpose flour (plus more if needed)
• 2¼ tsp active dry yeast / 1 packet
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp Italian seasonings (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (plus more)
• 1 cup warm water (110°F - 115°F)

Instructions

• Into a small bowl, add yeast and sugar, pour the warm water and stir. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes until it turns foamy.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add flour, salt and Italian seasonings. Mix with a fork or a dough hook on low speed for 1 minute.
• Followed by adding yeast mix and olive oil, beat on a medium speed until everything comes together. Once the dough starts to hold and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, reduce the speed to a low and beat for 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and bounces back if you poke it. If the dough is sticky add more flour, 1 tbsp at a time. If its dry, add water 1 tbsp at a time.
• Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface, knead and shape it to a smooth firm ball.
• Brush a large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough into the bowl. Roll the dough in the bowl to coat oil on all sides and cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm place for 1-2 hrs allowing the dough to rest and rise to double in size. I usually keep mine in the oven with the oven turned off (mine took 1 hour 30 minutes to double).
• Once the dough has risen, remove the wrap and punch the dough down to release air.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F. Dust your pizza stone or baking tray with flour.
• Onto a well-floured surface, transfer the dough and knead for 2 minutes. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten it into a large circle or any shape you prefer. Using your hands, pinch the dough around the edges to form a thicker border crust.
• Poke the dough sparsely with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming while baking. Brush with olive oil on the top of the pizza as well as on the sides.
• Bake the crust in the preheated oven on the lower rack for 5 minutes.
• Take the crust out from the oven, top with your desired toppings and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the crust is browned and your cheese has melted.

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Alright, so this is my first Fat Tuesday dish and a totally un-planned one. In fact, I was just relaxing after my weekend shoot of my upcoming Mojito recipe, and all of a sudden my hubby calls me up from office and asks “What’s Fat Tuesday? Do you know to cook any Fat Tuesday dishes?” It turned out that his workmates quickly decided to do a potluck the next day for Fat Tuesday and had also picked up the dishes they planned to cook. The funny fact is, my husband was clueless and the best dishes were already taken. So that left me with little time, limited choices, and I thought… “Well, I’ve been looking for an inspiration for my next recipe and I badly want to try a new cuisine… and there you go Akhila, an Opportunity right in front of you… Grab it… time for you to get Inspired…!” So, I took a quick look at the list of dishes already chosen by his colleagues and saw no appetizers listed; quickly called him up and without any hesitation said, “I’m making a Jambalaya Flatbread”. I heard a pause (I’m sure he was surprised and confused, hehe…) and he said “Ok dear, as you say!” I dropped the call, sat down and thought to myself “Alright, so now how do you prepare it???”

Jambalaya is one among my favorite dishes; especially the Cajun styled one from our local farm market (Soulard market @ St. Louis, MO) which I love a lot. It is a traditional dish made with rice, vegetables and meats, rich in the flavors from spices and is cooked either Creole or Cajun style. Cajun Jambalaya is tomato less and more of a Central Louisiana style whereas Creole Jambalaya is a New Orleans style.  I would consider my today’s dish as more of a mix of both considering the Cajun seasoning used and the tomato based marinara sauce on top of the flatbread.

This recipe is quite easy to make and calls for only one spice rub; Cajun seasoning. I have used AIDELLS Cajun Style Andouille sausage in this recipe which is a smoked pork sausage, and it along with the chicken and shrimp are sautéed in the Cajun seasoning, cooked till brown, and spread on flat bread coated with marinara sauce, along with veggies & cheese. Super easy and quick, makes a great meal on your table.

Enjoy, Happy Cooking!!!

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate below if you love it…!

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Jambalaya Flatbread

Classic Mardi Gras dish with a twist… Jambalaya on a Flatbread!!! Relish the Cajun flavours with chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, bell peppers, white onions, jalapenos and garlic, flavored in seasoning, all on a thin flatbread, topped with Mozzarella cheese and parsley.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword flatbread, game day recipe, jambalaya

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• Andouille sausage (I have used AIDELLS Cajun Style Andouille sausage)
• 15-17 shrimp (peeled, deveined and tail removed)
• 1 chicken breast (sliced into small pieces)
• 1 yellow,red and orange bell pepper
• 1 white onion (sliced)
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers (sliced)
• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 2 garlic pods (crushed)
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• Olive oil
• Freshly chopped parsley (garnish)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Store bought flat bread

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
• Slice the andouille sausage and season it along with the chicken & shrimp, in Cajun seasoning (1 ½ tbsp).
• Heat olive oil in a pan, add the seasoned meats, and saute. Cook for 2 minutes on each side till browned. Remove the meats from the pan and set aside.
• Into the same pan, add crushed garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add sliced bell peppers and onions, ½ tbsp Cajun seasoning, saute and cook until softened. Add olive oil if necessary. Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.
• Add marinara sauce into the same pan, cook on medium heat until it is slightly thick.
• Place your flatbreads on a greased sheet pan, and spread the marinara sauce evenly on top of it as the base. Top with some mozzarella cheese.
• Spread the cooked chicken, shrimp, sausage and vegetables evenly on top of the flatbread, and finally top with jalapenos and some more mozzarella cheese.
• Place the sheet pan in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes until the cheese has melted. Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool.
• Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

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My memorable experiences with pizza started at Hyderabad, India, where even though I got to try out the authentic recipes, I loved the different Indian flavours like the kadai pizza, chicken tikka pizza, n tandoori pizza. They are so delicious that you sometimes forget that you are having a pizza! After moving to the US, I have enjoyed the ample choices available here; varieties of crusts, meats, veggies, cheese, local favorites and so on… but I do miss the indian flavours.

So, here is my first pizza recipe… Tandoori Chicken Pizza.

Indian Tandoori recipes are pretty famous around the world. The tandoor oven which is basically a clay or metal oven is heated by burning charcoal or wood fire. The delightful flavours of the tandoori recipes are a result of the marinade which is rich in yogurt and spices, combined with the smoky flavour from the oven. The bright red color comes from the chili powder, usually Kashmiri chili / cayenne. Having a tandoor oven at home especially in the US is not that easy, and so the alternatives are either using a barbeque grill or a conventional oven.

The tandoori marinade is a flavour pack of different spices with yogurt and lemon juice. It is ideal to marinade the chicken for 24 hours, allowing the meat to break down and the flavour to combine. The longer you marinate, the better it tastes.

So, plan your next get-together and show off your cooking skills with some variety pizzas… Enjoy!!!

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Tandoori Chicken Pizza

Tandoori chicken pizza topped with onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro and mozzarella cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chicken pizza, indian pizza, pizza, tandoori pizza

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For tandoori chicken marinade

• 4 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp corainder powder
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• salt (as required)

For pizza

• 1 large chicken breast
• tandoori chicken marinade (above)
• ½ of a red bell pepper (sliced lengthwise)
• 1 tomato (sliced)
• 2 jalapenos (sliced)
• 1 red onion (cubed)
• cilantro leaves (chopped)
• mozzarella cheese
• 2-3 tbsp tomato paste
• pizza crust
• salt (as required)

Instructions

Preparation of tandoori chicken

• To prepare the marinade, in a bowl whisk all the ingredients of the tandoori chicken marinade.
• Marinate the chicken and refrigerate for 24 hours preferably (6 hours minimum).
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, spray cooking oil and place the chicken on it.
• Cook the chicken in the oven for 25 minutes. Flip it half way through.
• Allow it to cool and then slice into thin strips.

Preparation of pizza

• 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
• 2. To prepare the pizza, first spread the tomato paste on the pizza crust.
• 3. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese generously on top of it.
• 4. Arrange the sliced chicken pieces, followed by the vegetables and again top with mozzarella cheese. 
• 5. Bake for about 15-16 minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown at the edges. 

Notes

1. Do not cook the chicken for more than 25 minutes as it will end up being too dry. 20 – 25 minutes of cooking is ideal for a juicy chicken.
2. You can vary the vegetables used as per your choice.
3. The garam masala I have used in my recipe has been bought from an Indian store (Sakthi garam masala). You can also use a homemade masala which is preferable.

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