easy vegan pizza

I've been craving pizza for DAYS ON END but I'm trying to save for an upcoming trip so struggle to justify the £15+ it costs to have one delivered! This DIY version definitely hit the spot, my best attempt yet - it's super easy to make and costs next to nothing once you have the basic ingredients in the cupboard.

I used plain flour in this recipe but next time I think I'll experiment with half plain, half wholewheat to make it a bit healthier. Usually I forego cheese and use a combo of nutritional yeast and olive oil but I had some Violife Pizza Cheese in the fridge, it melted amazingly and tasted great :) 

Ingredients - Dough

• 350g plain flour + extra for dusting
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml warm water

Ingredients - Sauce

• ½ a punnet of cherry tomatoes (I counted - I used 18)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp oregano

Ingredients - Toppings (use your choice!)

• Violife pizza cheese, grated
• Chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• Green olives, sliced
• Sweetcorn
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Rocket, (add after cooking)

Method

Begin by preparing the sauce. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth with no lumps. Set aside in the fridge. 

Sieve flour into a large bowl, add yeast and salt and stir. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and water. Begin to stir in the flour and continue until everything is mixed well. Scatter some flour on your counter and begin to knead the dough - if it's too sticky, add more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Now you can either leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hours (I did - I had something else to do before dinner!) in a covered bowl or continue (only if you want thin crust). 

If you've left the dough to rise, give it a quick knead then split into two balls. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and roll out the dough into two large rounds - try to get it as thin as possible as it will rise in the oven! Lift each round onto a silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 220°. Place two upturned baking sheets in the oven to heat up - we will place our pizzas on top of these, this will ensure the bottom of the dough gets cooked properly. 

Smooth a few spoonfuls of sauce over each base then add cheese. Scatter your toppings and a drizzle of olive oil on then place the silicon mats on top of the preheated baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp. Scatter some rocket on top and enjoy :)