Home-made Vegan Pepperoni Pizza: Deep Pan

Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 14th of January 2022

If you can make bread, you can make pizza dough.  If you never made bread, don't worry; this is so easy!  I used to love pizza, so creating my own vegan pizza is something I have dreamed about for a long time.  Obviously, there are different types of bases, but this recipe uses a deep pan one, which is very bready.  One of my main worries was finding the right vegan cheese.  I remember seeing a post on Twitter stating how good Applewood vegan cheese was, so when I saw it in the shop, I jumped at the chance.

 

Notes

• You don't need to go over the top with the kneading.  Gentle stretching is the way to go.  Neither will you need to flour the board.  Although the dough will seem a little dry, it will start to become sticky once you have kneaded it enough.

• Best temperature for water is 38C/100F according to the BBC good food (2021).  If the water is too hot, you will kill the yeast.  If it is too cold, it will not rise in time. 
  

• While you are kneading, you will find that the dough keeps sticking to the work top or board that you are using.  Whatever you do, resist the urge to add more flour.  Instead, use your dough scraper to scrape it off the surface while kneading.   If it is sticking to your hands a lot and stopping you from kneading, you have added too much water and you will need to add a little more flour, but not much.  Hydration is at 58%

  Working out hydration, 350g of flour x 0.58 hydration = 203ml 

Fold the edges over to make a crust.

Arrange the toppings onto of the vegan cheese.

Drizzle some olive oil over the vegan pepperoni.

One 10 inch/25 cm  pizza or two 5 inch/13 cm pizzas.

Time 2hrs  from start to finish, approximately.   

Ingredients

For the base

• 150g, strong wholemeal bread flour
• 200g of all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp instant yeast
• 203 ml warm water 
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp for baking
• Chopped coriander 
  

 For the toppings

• Tomato sauce (tomatoes x 1, basil x a few sprigs, crushed garlic x 1 tbsp, sugar x 0.25 tps if needed, tomato paste x 2 tbsp, salt x a pinch) x 4 tablespoons.
  
• Vegan cheese  x 100g
  
• Vegan pepperoni slices x about 10, but it's up to you!
  
• Onion x a few slices
  
• Mushroom x 2 small sliced
  
• Green pepper x 6 slices
• Black cracked pepper
  

Apparatus

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Measuring Spoons
• Wooden spoon
• Spatula 
• Basting brush for spreading the oil in the pan
  
• 30 cm/12 inch baking pan or similar size

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Method 

1. In a large mixing bowl, add both flours, salt, sugar, yeast and mix with a whisk.

2. Add the water a bit at a time, 2 tablespoons of oil and coriander, then stir together until you get a shaggy dough.

3. When the dough comes together, transfer to a board and knead for 3 or 4 minutes until combined.  When kneading, stretch it out as you go.
   

4. Transfer the dough back to the mixing bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and let it proof (rise) for 1 hour and 30 minutes in a warm part of your kitchen.

5. After proofing, heat the oven to 200C.

6. While the oven is heating, use 1 teaspoon of olive oil in the baking tin.  Spread the oil around using the brush.

7. Before transferring the dough to the baking tin, shape the dough out with your hands into a circle or the shape of the tin you are using.  Now press the dough down into the pan with your fingertips to create a rim around the edge making a crust that is higher than the rest.  Use your fingers to press the dough all around the tin and be careful not to tar the dough.  The idea is to spread it out rather and flatten it down.  Cover the dough and let proof again for 25 minutes in a warm part of your kitchen.  
   

Topping

Make the tomato sauce 

1. Dice the tomato and add to a blender with the basil.  Poor into an airtight container (because you are most likely going to have some left over).
   
2. Add the other ingredients and give a good stir. 
3. Spread 4 tablespoons of the tomato sauce over the base excluding the crust.
   

Cheese and topping 

1. Great the cheese and add it to the base.
2. Add the other toppings.
   

Final steps 

1. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 
2. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 4 minutes.  
3. Grind some black pepper on top and serve. 
   

Results 

Extremely tasty and satisfying.  The cheese melted to perfection and the Wicked Kitchen Pepperoni slices were much better than I expected.  As for the Applewood vegan cheese, it melted perfectly.

I hope that you liked this blog and if you do try this recipe, please let me know how you got on and what it turned out like. You can leave a comment in the comments below.  

References 

BBC (2021)  BBC Good Food: 'Yeast'. Published by Immediate Media Company Limited.  Available at https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/yeast-glossary (Accessed on 08/10/2021)