A Family Favorite for Dinner

Making pizza at home has been a favorite for our family since the kids were tiny.  At first, I would pick up pizza dough from Trader Joe's in a bag and use that, but after a while, I wasn't loving the taste of the crust that much and thought I could probably do better at home.  I started using a pizza crust recipe from one of my bread machine cookbooks and the recipe is a real winner (my bread machine gets most of its use just for making dough because I prefer to bake my breads in the oven, but even so it is useful for dough making).  I modified the recipe because I like to use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all-purpose unbleached flour instead of all white flour like the original calls for.  Here is the recipe:

2 lbs. of pizza dough  -  Add ingredients to the bread machine bowl in the order you see them.
Usually makes 3 medium-sized pizzas.
(This recipe can be made, also, in a Kitchen Aid mixer; after mixing and kneading for about 2 minutes with the machine, just leave it covered and in a warm place and let it rise for about an hour before using.)

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/4 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp. dry yeast

Over the years, our eating habits have changed.  I used to, easily, use a whole pound of mozzarella in one night of pizza making.  And, of course, we loved to put pepperoni and Italian sausage on our pizza along with lots of other toppings.  Now, we don't eat meat, dairy, or eggs.  When we decided to eat a vegan diet at home, I wondered if our pizza days were behind us and determined to keep the tradition alive even without some of the more usual pizza ingredients.  I have found the key to making a great vegan pizza is to make sure you have plenty of toppings on it.  Honestly, I don't even miss the cheese anymore and like a base of spinach or other greens on the bottom just as much.  My girls still request pizza night just as often and love it with whatever toppings we happen to have on hand that day.  Here was one of our recent pizzas.