Whoever said that chocolate was the food of love probably hadn't tasted a pizza before!
This baked cheesy goodness fulfils every gastronomical dream; it therefore comes as no surprise that nearly 350 slices of this comfort food are consumed every second, in America alone!
Pizzas were invented around the 18th or early 19th century. Though unofficially, but most popularly, Naples has been recognized as the birthplace of this Italian goodie. Although flatbreads had existed since the era of the Roman Empire, it was only in 1889, when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples, that the city's Pizzeria Brandi concocted a pizza by topping a pie with tomatoes, soft cheese and basil leaves. Legend has it that the famous Margherita pizza was named after the visiting queen!
Nearly a century and a half later, today, people's lifestyle choices have evolved, as have their dietary habits. Where some are intolerant to gluten, some choose to avoid it to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Pizzas- as delicious as they are, cannot be classified as "healthy". And they aren't very accommodating of the new lifestyle changes either.
But necessity is the mother of all inventions! To spare the taste buds of the ones seeking healthier alternatives, talented chefs from around the globe came up with a variety of pizzas for every dietary preference!
Allow us to list them for you:
The Gluten-Free Pizza
First things first, let's answer the most basic question that people have.
What is gluten? |
Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale.
The base of a pizza is traditionally made of white flour, which has gluten. So to make our pizza gluten-free, we need an alternative ingredient to make the base. The sauce and cheese can remain the ones you always use!
Here's what you need to make a gluten-free pizza base:
Ingredients
1 cup (160 g) of white rice flour
1 cup (160 g) of brown rice flour
1 cup (120 g) of tapioca flour
3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 ¼ cup of warm water (divided)
2- 3 tablespoons of sugar (divided)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Preparation
In a bowl, take ¾ cup warm water and add to it the yeast. Make sure the water isn't too hot, or you run the risk of killing the yeast. After about two minutes of letting the yeast proof, add half the sugar (12gms) to this water.
In another bowl, mix the white and brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum. To this, add salt, baking powder and the remaining sugar. Mix till the mixture is homogeneous.
Make a well in the flour mixture and add to it the yeast water. Add the olive oil and the remaining warm water and kneed till well combined.
That’s it; your dough is ready! But remember to prebake the base (for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) before you top it off with your favourite sauce and cheese.
The Vegan Lovers delight
So what is a vegan diet? A vegan diet uses only plant-based products to make the dishes. That means no meat and nothing that animals give us, including milk (and all milk-based products like cheese, butter, etc.) and honey, can be used.
Cheese, the essence of a traditional pizza- is a non-vegan product.
Here's a delicious recipe for homemade vegan mozzarella cheese
Ingredients
1 cup of cashews
¼ cup of plain unsweetened coconut yoghurt (you can even make this at home!)
1 ½ tablespoon of lemon juice
½ cup of unsweetened plain almond milk
½ teaspoons of sea salt
2- 2 ½ tablespoons of nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons of tapioca starch
Preparation
In boiling water, soak the cashews overnight
Drain the cashews thoroughly and add them to a blender along with the coconut yoghurt, lemon juice, almond milk, salt, nutritional yeast and tapioca starch. Blend till the resultant paste is smooth and creamy
Taste and adjust the ingredients according to liking
To a skillet, add the paste and heat it over medium-low heat. Please bring it to a boil whilst constantly whisking
In about 4 to 5 minutes, the mixture should form a ball. Lower the heat and allow the dough-ish ball to soften. Then transfer it to a mixing bowl
Allow it to cool down and refrigerate it for a bit
Your cheese is ready to be devoured!
Note- you can use the above-given base recipe to make the base for this amazing vegan pizza too!
Keto Pizza
The latest fad in the dietary world is that of Keto. A Keto diet is a high fat and low carb diet that helps you shed kilos instantly.
So if you're looking for a delicious keto pizza that helps you lose weight, we've got you covered! Here's what you need
Ingredients
2 cups of shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons of cream cheese
1 cup of almond flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
In a bowl, add the mozzarella and cream cheese and microwave it for 45seconds
Add the egg, almond flour, baking powder, oregano, and garlic powder to the melted cheese. Mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Your dough is ready!
Transfer the dough onto a baking tray, shaping it as you like (square or round)
Bake for 10 minutes
Remove from the oven and add your sauce, toppings and cheese
Set the pizza to bake again till the cheese is nice and bubbly. Enjoy!
There are so many more innovative pizza bases out there - cauliflower being one of the most popular ones, but these recipes give you bases that are closest in taste to the traditional white flour base!
Do you have a pizza recipe that you swear by? Write in and share them with us!