One Veg and Non-Veg Pizza from scratch

Pizza is one of the most beloved food of kids and my kids are no exception. They love it to the core. After trying few breads at home, I thought to make a pizza from scratch and surprise my kids for dinner one day. After you understand how yeast works, pizza making is like a breeze. In first attempt, I made soft and spongy pizza base, with homemade pizza sauce and topping what my kids like, one veg pizza with paneer and vegetable and one non-veg. with chicken sausage and vegetable.

You Need :
For Pizza dough::: [yields two 7-8" round pizza]
Flour : 3-31/2 cups
Active Dry Yeast : 1 tblsp.
Sugar : 1 tsp.
1-1/4 cup warm water
Vegetable Oil : 1 tblsp.
Salt : 2 tsp.
Some extra flour for dusting
Olive oil for brushing
For Pizza sauce ::::
Tomato Puree: 1/4 cup or puree of 5-6 medium size tomato
Onion : 2, chopped
Garlic : 3 fat cloves, crushed
Tomato : 1, big, chopped
Dried Oregano or mixed Italian herbs : 1 tsp.
Olive Oil : 1 tsp.
Sugar : 1/2 tsp.
Salt and black pepper to taste

Topping for Veg. Pizza:::
Paneer/cottage cheese
Fresh corn
Capsicum slices
Tomato slices
Onion slices
You can add any vegetable of your choice
Topping for Salami Pizza :::
Chicken sausage
Fresh corn
Capsicum slices
Tomato slices
Onion slices

How To :

To make Pizza dough : In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water. Stir till sugar dissolves and let it stand undisturbed in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. When you see the mixture turns foamy, that means yeast has activated. Add oil in there. Mix salt in flour and add in yeast mixture. Make a pilable dough. Turn out dough on a lightly floored surface, knead well until dough turns soft and elastic for about 8-10 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and keep the bowl in a warm place to rise until it doubles in size. [Tips : I usually run my microwave for 4-5 minutes, then turn it off, keep the light on and place the bowl in there to rise]
After it doubles in size, remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it well to push the air out with your hands – this is called knocking back the dough. Now divide the dough in two round ball. Again on a flour-dusted surface, place one ball and roll it out to make a 1/2 inch thick round pizza base. do the same with the other dough ball.
To make Pizza sauce : Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add crushed garlic and onions, fry until onions turn transparent. Add tomato Puree, sugar, oregano, salt and black pepper. Stir well. Lower the heat and let it cook for 15-20 minutes stirring frequently. Finally add chopped tomatoes to give the sauce a chunky texture. Cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat.
Final assemble and topping : Preheat oven to 200 degree C. Place one pizza base on round pizza baking tray, grease it with olive oil and dust some flour on it. Your baking tray is ready. Prick the base everywhere with a fork to prevent it from rise in oven. Then brush the base with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce over it and topping of whatever you want. Finally cover it with grated pizza cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes till the edges of pizza base turns brown and cheese melts and turns slightly brown.