FIVE EASY pizzas - Recipe

Vegetarian Times, August, 2000 by Ken Haedrich

These recipes will convince you that homemade pies are worth the effort

Have you ever wished you could wave a magic wand and conjure up your favorite pizza? Me too--about once a week and twice on weekends, when the house becomes a crash pad for my kids and their friends. The closest most of us come to this sort of hassle-free pizza is waving a twenty in front of some aproned guy at the local pizza parlor.

Even if pizza can't appear with the wave of a wand, it can with the push of a button, the one right there on your food processor. OK, maybe not the whole pizza, but at least the part where most of us stumble and reach for the Boboli: the crust. We all know that the best crust starts with homemade dough. But you may not realize that your food processor can make quick work of that dough.

How quick? Twelve seconds, to be precise. And nobody's so pressed for time that they can't spare 12 seconds for great pizza dough. As for all you dedicated bread bakers out there--and I count myself among you--I don't consider using my food processor cheating. I prefer to think of it as a sort of pizza enabler, a mechanical friend I can turn to when I don't have the time or I'm not in the mood for 10 minutes of kneading.

You can top your push-button crust with anything you like, but this being summer, I've looked to the garden for inspiration. As a result, you'll see lots of tomatoes, plus peppers, eggplant and fresh herbs. All of the recipes are topped with cheese. If you prefer, the specified quantities can be reduced or the cheese omitted altogether. Pizza is good like that: It's not the least bit fussy about what you put on it.

If you like to grill, you probably already know how wonderful grilled vegetables taste on pizza. Not only will you find one recipe here made with grilled veggies, but you'll also find instructions for grilling all of the pizzas. And once you've experienced the deep, smoky flavor of a grilled crust, you'll be hooked. The same goes for this push-button dough, your ticket to fast, homemade pizza in any season.

Push-Button Pizza Dough

2 SMALL OR 1 LARGE PIZZA EGG- & DAIRY-FREE

Use unbleached all-purpose flour rather than bleached all-purpose; it makes a better, more resilient food-processor dough. And don't be tempted to process the dough longer than specified in hopes of eliminating the little bit of kneading called for: It won't be the same.

3/4 cup warm water (105 [degrees] F to 115 [degrees] F)
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil, plus more as needed
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 3/4 cups plus 1 Tbs. unbleached
  all-purpose flour

1. Place warm water in food processor bowl. Sprinkle yeast over, then add salt, 2 teaspoons oil and sugar. Process briefly to mix. Let rest 1 minute. Add 1 3/4 cups flour and process in two 4-second bursts, waiting several seconds between each. Process one more 4-second burst, adding remaining 1 tablespoon flour with machine running. Let dough rest 1 minute.

2. Lightly oil medium bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; it will be somewhat sticky. With floured hands, knead gently 30 to 45 seconds. Place dough in oiled bowl, rotating to coat entire surface. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm spot to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Proceed as directed in individual recipes.

PER 1/8 OF DOUGH: 112 CAL.; 3G PROT.; 1G TOTAL FAT (0 SAT. FAT); 21G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 538MG SOD.; 1G FIBER

Tomato, Pesto and Mozzarella Pizza

MAKES 8 SLICES EGG-FREE

You can put seeded, sliced tomatoes directly on this pizza, but roasting them first--as we do here--makes for a more concentrated tomato flavor without the excess moisture. Serve this at the height of tomato season, with fresh corn on the cob. If you prefer, omit the mozzarella cheese and sprinkle pizza with nondairy Parmesan when it comes out of the oven.

1 batch Push-Button Pizza Dough
  (see recipe)
Olive oil
4 ripe large tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
  slices
1/2 cup purchased or homemade pesto
1/2 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  (2 to 4 oz.)
1 or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

1. Prepare pizza dough as directed.

2. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 [degrees] F. Oil large, preferably nonstick baking sheet with sides. Arrange tomato slices in prepared pan; they'll be crowded. Dust with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Roast until softened, about 25 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool; set aside.

3. Prepare grill as directed in "All Fired Up" (see below). Lightly oil 2 large baking sheets. Gently punch down dough, divide in half and knead each half into a ball. Place dough balls on lightly floured surface, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 8 minutes. Using rolling pin, roll each ball into 9-inch circle, about 1/4 inch (scant) thick. Transfer to prepared baking sheets and lightly brush entire surface with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.

4. Carefully lift each dough circle off baking sheet and place on hot side of grill. Cook undisturbed 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, so bottom has a chance to set; top of dough will bubble.