NEVER ENOUGH GARLIC

We simply love pizza! There's no other way to put it, and we bet we'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't feel the same way. There is a reason, after all, that pizza is one of the world's favourite foods. And there's no limit to the food genres a propper pizza can cover: comfort food? Check. Junk food? Check. Feeling-snacky/had-a-bad-day food? Check. Gourmet food? Although there might be some debate on this point, we argue that if made properly, yes!

This recipe is all about making the perfect vegan pizza with a thin, crispy crust and umami-packed toppings. While making a pizza from scratch sounds like hard work, unless you're lucky enough to live close to an amazing pizzeria that offers vegan pizza options, making it yourself is the best way to go. And trust us, making your own vegan pizza is so much better than getting a frozen vegan pizza from the local supermarket (providing that they even sell vegan pizza to begin with - which is often not the case around where we live).

For this pizza, we used shiitake mushrooms and our signature plant-based chorizo for our toppings. But you can top it with whatever your veggie heart desires!

Ingredients (makes 4 pizzas):

Pizza dough:

• 300 ml (1.25 cups) lukewarm water 
• 780 g (27.5 oz) pizza flour (or regular all purpose flour)
• 170 ml (0.7 cups) aqua faba 
  
• 7 g (0.25 oz) dried yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. olive oil 

Tomato sauce:

• 500 ml (2 cups) tomato passata/purée
• 1 tbsp. oregano 
• 1 tbsp. thyme
• 1 tbsp. basil
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 2 tsp. salt
• 0.5 tsp. pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Toppings:

• 170 g (6 oz) vegan chorizo (see our recipe here)
• 5 tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 30 g (1 oz) dried shiitake mushrooms
• 600 g (21 oz) of your favourite shredded vegan cheese (or make your own vegan cheddar)

Instructions:

1. Chop the chorizo in thin slizes. Spread them out on a plate and add the coconut oil. Drizzle the smoked paprika on top of the slices. Let the chorizo rest until the dough and sauce are done.
2. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in cold water until the dough and sauce are done.

Dough:

1. Mix the yeast with the water in the mixer for 5 minutes or until it's mixed well.
2. Add the aqua faba, salt, and sugar, and mix for a minute more.
3. Start mixer on medium speed, and add the flour little by little until it's all mixed in.
4. Let the dough rise in the mixer bowl for 30 minutes (make the sauce in the meantime).
5. On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for a few minutes.
6. Divide the dough in 4 equal sized pieces. These are your 4 pizza crusts.
7. Roll out each piece of dough to approx. 5 mm (0.2 inches) thickness. It's ready!

Sauce:

1. Sautée the onion and crushed garlic in the 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and bring to a boil. 

Putting it all together:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F).
2. Divide the tomato sauce evenly on each of the four pizza crust and spread it out. Add a quarter of the cheese, shiitake mushrooms, and chorizo slices on each pizza.
3. Put two of the pizzas in the oven when it has reached 250°C (480°F). It's important that the oven has been preheated properly.
4. Bake for 15 minutes while keeping an eye on the pizzas. Repeat with last 2 pizzas.

Enjoy your amazing, crispy, umami-packed, vegan pizza!