Vegan Pizza Dough

Making your own pizza dough is satisfying in so many ways. From getting your hands in the dough while you knead it and when you roll it out, to the smell of the yeast in the kitchen, to the knowledge of what is in your food, to the superior taste - you can't get much better. The steps to making your own pizza may seem daunting at first but after a few times you will get in a routine and find it is well worth the effort.

Vegan Pizza Dough

Dough Ingredients:

1 pkg active dry yeast (about a tbsp of yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, though, you don't want to kill the yeast)
2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour

Dough Directions:

Place the yeast in a large mixing bowl with the warm water and the sugar. Mix it gently with a wooden spoon and then leave it for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the yeast should be forming a foam on the top of the water. If you do not see any foam, it means your yeast is dead and you should start again with new yeast. Otherwise, add the olive oil, salt, and one cup of flour. Mix to incorporate and then continue adding flour one cup at a time until a loose shaggy dough begins to form. Then slowly work in the last cup of flour while you knead the dough. You want a nice elastic dough that is not too dry. So don't add any more flour than you have to while you knead the dough. The amount of flour you will need to add varies - I think it has to do with the brand of flour, the humidity, etc. that determines how much flour to add before your dough has a nice smooth yet slightly tacky feel to it. This is why it is important to add the flour one cup at a time. Knead the dough for around 5-7 minutes or so.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set the dough aside in a warm spot in your kitchen to rise for an hour. After the hour, your dough should have doubled in size. Punch it down and let it rise again (if you made the dough ahead, here is where you can put it in the fridge until you are ready to use. Otherwise, let it rise for another 30 minutes before rolling out for pizza. Alternately, if you refrigerated the dough, take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour before you plan to roll it out so it can come to room temperature, which makes it much easier to work with.

This usually makes about 3 small pizzas. Separate the dough into 3 or 4 equal balls and roll these out for each pizza. Top with your favorite toppings and bake in a preheated oven (475 degrees) for around 8-10 minutes.

Yogi Tea

This tea reminds me a bit of chai, but has a really good mellow flavor all its own. Making it from scratch makes your house smell wonderful and I like to keep a pitcher of it in the fridge and drink it over ice with a splash of soy milk added. This recipe follows the traditional recipe with a minor tweak here and there to suit our tastes. My son loves this tea and we go through at least a pitcher a week.

Yogi Tea

Ingredients:

10 cups of water

pinch of salt

20 whole cloves

30 black peppercorns

3 cinnamon sticks

25 cardamom pods (cracked)

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced

1/4 cup sweetener (syrup, cane sugar, agave)

2 family-sized black tea bags

Directions:

Put the water in a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Add the salt, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, ginger and sweetener to the water. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, partially covered.

Add the black tea bags for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time. Strain the spices out and pour the tea into a pitcher. Serve warm or chilled with a splash of non-dairy milk.