You never know where you’re going to find a great new way to make one of your favorite foods. Case in point: this recipe, which comes from – THE HORROR! – a vegan that I know. Of course, I tend to load it up with Italian sausage, bacon, and any number of products that would anger the more militant members of the vegan community. This is fine, because vegans lack the animal proteins necessary for aggression. And credit where credit’s due, the flatbread crust and tomato sauce are mighty tasty – perhaps a result of not having meat to lean on for flavor. Add some as a topping, along with some good cheese, and you’ve got a perfect homemade pie.

The Setup

This is enough dough and sauce for four pizzas. You can halve it, but you might find yourself wishing you had those other two pizzas after all. The dough and sauce will keep a few days in the fridge, just make sure to knead the dough for a couple of minutes with some flour before rolling out the dough.

Crust
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 4 c white bread flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil

Sauce
-14 oz can chopped tomatoes
- 2/3 c tomato sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp malt vinegar
- salt and pepper

Everything else
- Cheese (most anything works)
- Toppings (see above)

Seriously, just use whatever you want. The tomato sauce and tasty crust will work with most anything you’d like. I’m a big fan of feta, but goat cheese or the traditional mozzarella works just as well. As for toppings, since these pizzas only cook for a few minutes, you may do well to par-cook the toppings – especially if it’s something like Italian sausage.

Cooking

I won’t belabor this point, but if you’ve got a pizza stone in the oven, the difference in quality is amazing. It’s a good pizza either way, but once you try the crisp, slightly charred crust, you’ll never go back to baking sheets.

1. Add the yeast to 1 1/2 c of warm (100-120F) water, along with a 1/4 tsp of sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Sift the flour and a little slat into a large bowl and make a well into the center.

3. Add the oil and the water/yeast mixture slowly, until it comes together into a dough.

4. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and acts elastic. Flour the bowl, place the dough a ball back in, cover, and let rise for an hour and a half.

5. Preheat oven to 425 (if you’ve got a pizza stone) or 450 (if you’ve using a baking sheet). Oil the baking sheets or coat your pizza paddle with cornmeal.

6. Put all of the sauce ingredients into a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.

7. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead for another 2 minutes, and divide into 4 equal balls. Roll crusts out and brush the edges of the pizza with oil.

8. Bake the pizzas 12-15 min (depending on cooking method and your oven), until crispy.