Vegetarian Pizza

Top view of pizza	Side view of pizza

Pizza is generally a oven-baked, flat round bread that is covered with tomato sauce and different ingredients on top with a layer of cheese. I like to eat pizza but considering the layer of cheese decorated on top, have to think twice or eat it once in a blue moon.

Vegetarian pizza can be found at PizzaHut, Canadian Pizza or even Pasta Mania. However, for those who are more strict will be thinking whether the cheese is suitable for vegetarians or will they use any additional sauce that you do not know. Although the ingredients may seems ok, just having all types of vegetables, without onions or garlics but some will still not eat it.

Currently, the only place that comes to my mind when I want to eat pizza is Roma Deli at Shaw Tower. The pizza that they are selling seems to be ready-made and they just need to heat it up. It may not taste as nice because the ingredients may not be as fresh since its ready-made.

It seems like it may be quite difficult to find a freshly baked pizza outside. So the only way is to bake it yourself, you can add alot of ingredients. There was once I added a alot of ingredients that the height of the ingredients is almost three times taller than the pizza bread.

Colorful Pizza Ingredients with red, green, yellow, brown

Equipment required for baking pizza:

• Baking Oven
• Baking Pan / Pizza Pan

6″ and 8″ pizza pan

Cheese suitable for vegetarians, actually I am not too sure what type of cheese is really suitable for vegetarians or rather which brand of cheese is indicated vegetarian. However, I knew that the basic ingredients of the cheese should not contain rennet and look for those that are non-rennet. In addition, it would be best if it is indicated suitable for vegetarians. The brand of the cheese that I had bought for my pizza is Emborg. This is introduced by the salesgirl who is promoting the cheese and says that it is suitable for vegetarians and no animal-based production used. Not sure how true or believable she is, but looking at the ingredients, it seems like there aren’t any outstanding ingredients that is clearly from animals. So I believed her and bought it.

Emborg Mozarella Cheese

The emborg mozzarella cheese can be found at NTUC. The ingredients of Emborg mozzarella cheese are pasteurized cow’s milk, salt, microbial rennet, bacterial culture. Seeing the word rennet, I searched from the internet and extract this part from Wikipedia:

“Microbial rennet Some molds such as Rhizomucor miehei are able to produce proteolytic enzymes. These molds are produced in a fermenter and then specially concentrated and purified to avoid contamination with unpleasant side products of the mold growth. At the present state of scientific research, governmental food safety organizations such as the EFSA deny QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) status to enzymes produced especially by these molds. The flavor and taste of cheeses produced with microbial rennets tend towards some bitterness, especially after longer maturation periods.[1] These so-called “microbial rennets” are suitable for vegetarians, provided no animal-based alimentation was used during the production.”

Recipe of Vegetarian Pizza

Ingredients A: Self-raising flour 1 bowl – pointed (eat rice size) Milk (milkmaid + hot water) ¾ bowl to 1 bowl (eat rice size) Instant yeast 1 teaspoon Ingredients B: Red capsicum Green capsicum Button mushroom Mozzarella cheese Tomato and Chili Sauce Pineapple pieces (can) Shitake mushroom Ham Preparations: Take a bowl of self-raising flour (pointed). Sift the self-raising flour into the mixing bowl. Put instant yeast and around ¾ bowl to 1 bowl of milk depending on the texture. Mix ingredients A using hand. Leave the dough outside for 30 minutes. Cut ingredients B. Pineapples cut into small triangle shape Button mushroom slice it into few pieces Shitake mushroom slice it Capsicum slices it too Ham can be slice into round pieces or further slice it into stripes Prepare sauce. Add ketchup sauce + oyster sauce + chili sauce (can be balachan chili) Grease the baking tin with oil. Spread the dough evenly onto the tin. Bake for 10 minutes Apply the sauce. Spread abit cheese on top. Put all the ingredients B on top of the cheese. Spread evenly. Put the remaining sauce on top of the ingredients B. Lastly, put the remaining cheese on top of it. Put into oven, bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 180 degree Celsius. Remove from oven, cool it and ready to serve. Finishing: Put the pizza on the plate and cut it into slices and you are ready to serve. Tips: Do not keep heating up your pizza thinking that the crust will be softer, you will only make it harder and harder. Make your pizza more colorful or look more appetizing by decorating with different colors of capsicums and ingredients.

After successfully baking a vegetarian pizza, maybe next time I will try new tricks, like doing different shapes of pizza. Heart-shaped for valentine’s day, square, triangle, or even wrapped the ingredients inside the crust just like baking a bread.