Mini-Pizzas

Pizza Dough: (makes 6-8)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp oil
1 tsp instant yeast
pinch of baking powder
warm milk for kneading (approx 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

Mix all the dry ingredients and the oil, then slowly start adding the warm milk a little at a time. Get it to a soft dough, the softer the better, knead it very well for at least 8 minutes or more if possible.

Dab a touch of oil all over the dough, then cover it and place it somewhere warm. Leave it to rise to double it's size, takes about 30 mins to an hour depending on the weather.

Once risen, punch it down, give it a quick knead and then divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal balls. Roll out each ball and place on your greased baking tray. Again cover the tray and let the bases rise slightly for about 15 mins.

Now, using the tip of a sharp knife, make small slits here and there all over the base. This helps make sure that the base rises evenly so you won't have awkward looking bubbles all over your pizza!

Apply your pizza sauce, followed by the topping of your choice and then some cheese. Bake at 180 C (in a pre-heated oven) for about 10-15 minutes, or until you see that they are done and the cheese is beautifully melted.

Alternatively, you can bake the bases alone for about 8 minutes, just until they are somewhat solid, then lay them out to cool and put them in a freezer bag to freeze until whenever you need to make a quick pizza, whereby all you will need to do is place your half-cooked base, add the toppings and bake! :)

Topping:

This can be anything you like. I normally like to make a simple tomato sauce to apply on the pizza base, followed by any toppings like shredded tandoori chicken, keema, steak, etc. I also like to add sweet corn, oregano, thinly sliced capsicum and pineapple pieces especially if am using chicken for the topping.

Here is my simple tomato sauce recipe:

Blend 2-3 tomatoes, 1 capsicum, 1 green chilli, small onion and a grated carrot together until smooth. Heat a bit of oil in a pan, like a tbsp or even less. Then add a bit of garlic paste, followed by 1 tbsp tomato paste. Once that's cooked for a couple mins, add the blended mixture and simmer. Add salt and a pinch of sugar followed by a bit of tandoori masala or cumin powder or oregano or you can just leave it plain and unspiced according to your taste. Let it simmer until thick and all the water is gone. Then use accordingly! :)

For the cheese, my favourites are mozzarella and cheddar coz they give the pizza that fantastic stretchy cheesy quality. YUM! :)