One of the most beloved dishes in the world in its classic form is a dough cake covered with tomatoes and cheese. In fact, there are a lot of options for pizza toppings , but tomatoes and cheese make up the majority of them. How to cook pizza with tomatoes and cheese at home? We will consider the most popular recipes for this dish in detail in our article.
Features of cooking delicious pizza with cheese and tomatoes
Even in the homeland of pizza, in Naples, there is no one true recipe for making pizza. Some people believe that the secret to delicious pizza lies in the filling. Others are of the opinion that the main thing is to learn how to make the right dough. Features of the preparation of delicious pizza with tomatoes and cheese will be revealed below:
- It is advisable to use special pizza flour. It consists of fine-milled hard and soft wheat. The flour has good elasticity, the finished dough does not tear when stretched, and when baked it forms a crispy crust.
- In order for the taste of pizza to be harmonious, the thickness of the filling and the cake should be approximately the same (the filling may be slightly larger). The dough sheet needs to be rolled out as thinly as possible, no thicker than 2 mm. But the edges of the pizza can be up to 8 mm.
- Pizza dough is stretched only by hands, and it is strongly not recommended to use a rolling pin. This will preserve the structure of the test and the air bubbles inside it.
- The pizza toppings should not be too wet. This is necessary in order not to soak a thin layer of dough and not to break it.
- Real pizza should be in the oven for no more than 12 minutes.
Homemade pizza with tomatoes and cheese: a recipe for cooking
The dish can be cooked on a yeast dough or fresh, without adding yeast. It all depends on how you want to see the foundation - as thin or thicker as possible.
Homemade pizza with tomatoes and cheese according to the recipe below is prepared from yeast dough based on dry active yeast. In total, two large pizzas (26 cm in diameter) can be prepared from the ingredients indicated in the recipe.
First you need to combine the yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons) with water (1 ½ tbsp.). Let stand for 7 minutes until foam appears on the surface of the water. This means that the yeast has become active and you can knead the dough. Add flour (3 ½ tbsp.), Olive oil (2 tbsp. Tablespoons), salt and sugar (1 teaspoon each) to a bowl. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes. It will be suitable in a warm place for at least 1 hour (the longer, the better).
After the specified time, divide the dough into 2 parts, from each form a ball. Leave them under the towel to relax, and in the meantime prepare the filling. Mash tomatoes (3 pcs.), Pre-blanch them and remove the seeds. To prevent the filling from getting too wet, tomatoes need to be boiled to a thick consistency in a pan along with onions and garlic. Mushrooms (3 pcs.) Cut into thin slices, grate three types of cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, feta). Then put the ball of dough on a cutting board, slightly flatten it and with your fingertips begin to stretch from the center to the edges until it becomes thin enough. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes, then stretch it again to the desired size.
Layer the prepared dough with oil. Then put on it tomato puree, cheese and mushrooms with herbs (optional). Bake for no more than 14 minutes in an oven preheated to 230 degrees. From a cutting board, transfer the raw pizza blank to the hot pan only. 2 minutes before the end of cooking, you can once again sprinkle the dish with cheese.
Italian pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella
Real Italian pizza Margherita is prepared according to this recipe. The dough for it is taken, made according to the previous recipe or any other, including yeast-free or puff. If you bought it in a store in a chilled form, then before you start rolling it, you need to let it rest on the table for half an hour.
During this time, you need to have time to prepare the filling for pizza and preheat the oven to 260 degrees. Ideally, bake pizza on a special baking stone, which is installed directly on the metal grid in the lower third of the oven. The time for heating the oven with a stone is 45 minutes.
Pizza toppings are prepared very simply and quickly. To do this, one large tomato is blanched and mashed from it. You can also cut it into rings or cubes. From this, the taste of pizza will not get worse. Then put the mashed potatoes on a stretched dough sheet, add mozzarella (150 g) and basil. Pizza with tomatoes and cheese is baked on a hot stone for 8 minutes at a temperature of 260 degrees. Enjoy your meal!
Pizza in the oven with sausage, cheese and tomatoes
For pizza according to this recipe you will need two layers of dough prepared according to your home recipe. They need to let lie down a little on the table, and then stretch their hands from the center to the edges, crushing in some places with the palm of your hand. The thickness of the cake in the center should be about 3 mm, and the edges - up to 8 mm.
For the filling, you need to prepare tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. To do this, blanch the tomatoes (350 g), and then mash them. Then fry garlic (1 clove), onion (½ head) and mashed potatoes in olive oil, adding dried basil (1 teaspoon), salt and pepper. Keep on the stove until the sauce is thick. Put the prepared chilled sauce on the dough layer, then distribute salami (50 g), cherry tomatoes (120 g) and cheese (130 g) over it. Bake for 15 minutes at a temperature of 230 degrees.
The recipe for pizza with sausage, cheese and tomatoes can be improved to your taste by adjusting the amount of ingredients. The main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of sauce, otherwise the pizza will turn out too juicy and the dough will break.
Pizza recipe with mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese.
To prepare this dish, yeast dough made on water and yeast is more suitable. But for the filling it will be necessary to fry the mushrooms (0.5 kg) in vegetable oil in one pan, and on the other - onions (1 head), tomatoes (3 pcs.) And garlic (3 slices) to a thick consistency. After the mushrooms and sauce are ready, they need to be cooled.
While the filling is cooling, it is necessary to preheat the oven and prepare a layer of dough. Then you need to lay on it tomato-onion sauce, mushrooms and any grated cheese (150 g). Pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese is baked for 13 minutes at 220 degrees. Let it cool a little - and you can cut into portioned pieces.
Step-by-step pizza cooking with minced meat, tomatoes and cheese
There are two main ways of making minced pizza. In the first case, raw mincemeat is used as the filling, and in the second, twisted and fried meat. The dough layer (yeast, puff or yeast-free) should be thicker than in the classic version, so that the heavy filling does not tear thin cake.
Pizza with minced meat, tomatoes and cheese is baked in an oven preheated to 210 degrees. First, tomato dressing made from fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic is laid out on a sheet of rolled dough. Then it is sprinkled with cheese and minced meat. After that, pizza can be sent to the oven for 20 minutes. After the specified time, sprinkle it with cheese again and continue baking for 3 minutes.
Pizza with Peppers, Tomatoes and Cheese
To prepare this dish you will need a fresh, yeast-free dough. To do this, combine flour (450 g), soda, salt (1 teaspoon each) and citric acid (¼ teaspoon) in one bowl. Then add water (300 ml) and vegetable oil (3 tablespoons) to the dry ingredients. Knead the dough and immediately distribute it into 2 balls (2 pizzas), each of which must be rolled out on a table.
For the filling you will need homemade tomato sauce (or store ketchup), tomatoes (one for each layer of dough), bell pepper, cheese. Put all the ingredients in the order shown and send the pizza to the oven for 15 minutes. Pizza with tomatoes and cheese can be cooked on a yeast dough made according to the recipe specified in the article. It is necessary to ensure that the dough is not too thick, and the filling is too juicy.
Puff pastry mini pizza
Four small portioned pizzas are quite capable of replacing one large one, and you don’t have to cut it at all. To prepare the dish you will need two sheets of puff pastry. Each of them must be finely rolled and cut out from one sheet of 2 circles with a diameter of 15 cm (for this you can use a plate).
Cook the onion stuffing for pizza. To do this, fry onions (2 heads), garlic (4 slices), thyme (2 teaspoons), dry white wine (3 tablespoons), salt, pepper (¼ teaspoons) in olive oil. Keep the mixture on low heat for 10 minutes and cool.
Paste the prepared layers of puff pastry with a fork, sprinkle with parmesan (1 tbsp. Each spoon), put the onion mixture (¼ part for each), sprinkle with goat cheese (recommended mocha). Then put on each layer of dough a little ring of tomato, grease with olive oil, then salt, pepper, basil and again parmesan. Mini-style pizza with tomatoes and cheese is baked in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 220 degrees. Enjoy your meal!