No Yeast, No Butter Pizza

It's been a month since I've updated, but so much has happened. Mostly lots of labwork and assessments to go through, but more importantly, I (finally) got a camera! A Canon EOS 700D, to be exact. I admit I'm still a fledgling when it comes to handling a DSLR, but I'm very, very excited about all the possibilities. It's going to be a steep learning curve (with you as my guinea pigs) but it's a journey I can't wait to get started on!

On to the food. Yesterday, I had a sudden craving for pizza that not even Zeus himself could have resisted (although that guy doesn't seem to have much willpower anyway). At home, we no longer buy takeout pizza because more often than not, they are simply dripping with grease. Hmm, not so pleasant. I wanted to make my own pizza, but we had no yeast. Or butter. So I looked around the kitchen and decided to make do with what I already had: some baking soda, and lots of Greek yogurt (my mum's a big fan). To be honest, I don't think pizza dough really needs baking soda, but it does give it a little more fluffiness than if I didn't use it. So without further ado, here's a recipe for a no yeast, no butter pizza that'll melt in your mouth.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 3 cups plain flour
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup milk or water
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- Toppings: cheese, tomato paste, ham, vegetables, etc.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) fan-forced.  Mix the dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle, carefully pouring in the milk and oil. Add the Greek yogurt and mix evenly until the dough is slightly sticky and holds its shape. If it's too wet, add more flour.

2. Roll out the dough on floured baking paper until it is about 1 cm thick. You can also curl up the edges to give a thicker crust.

3. Prebake the crust for about 8 minutes, or until the surface is nicely golden. This is to stop it from getting soggy after the toppings have been added.

4. Take it out and let it cool. Turn your oven to 200°C (390°F) fan-forced. Spread your tomato paste, cheese and whatever else you want. I love basil, so I always sprinkle on a handful of leaves.

5. Bake again for about 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the vegetables have dried out slightly. You want to take it out immediately after it's done, because I've burnt a fair few pizza bases after turning off the oven and leaving them there while I cleaned up. Place it on a cooling rack or on top of a bowl to get air circulating around it.

Let me just say that my brothers loved it. But being brothers, I'm sure they'd eat anything I cook anyway. While the base is not as rich as it would be with butter, it's certainly a lot healthier without it, and the oil gives it a nice, light flavour. I might even prefer it to using butter. It sure satisfied my craving!

(Also, I think the bushel of fresh basil I bought looks really pretty. Here's a picture.)

Let me know what you think of the recipe!