Nut Cheese Please
You might have figured out by now that pizza is one of my favorite go-to meals. Home made pizza crust is super easy to make, and you can literally top it with just about anything your little belly desires.
I actually made this dough over the weekend- then got sidetracked and never got around to making pizza. I warily tossed it in the fridge once it was done rising, and pulled it out today. Lucky for me it was still in good shape!
Pizza crust is unusually forgiving for a baked good. I’ve made it without measuring, without yeast, without oil, random ingredients here and there, and it’s always come out ok. And if it doesn’t, who cares? Smother it in delicious toppings until you can’t taste the crust anymore. 😉 (I even almost burned the house down once…and it was still edible ;))
This version might be my favorite so far:
Whole Wheat Flax Pizza Dough
(Double to make bigger pizzas- or to have extra- it freezes really well!!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1/4 flax meal
3/4 c warm water
1 packet yeast (I used a little less- I had a randomly opened packet lying around.)
1/8 t salt
1. Combine water & yeast, set aside for ~5 min
2. Mix together dry ingredients
3. Stir in water/yeast combo
4. Knead for a few minutes. If it’s super sticky, add in more flour while kneading.
5. Put a little oil in a bowl, and roll ball of dough in it to coat all sides. Cover bowl and let rest in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size (1-2 hrs.) (You can use it earlier too, it just won’t be as fluffy- still good though!!)
6. Roll out dough to desired thickness & shape. Poke holes with fork tines.
7. Bake at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. (I use a greased cookie sheet cuz I’m not cool enough for pizza stones. And I’m too lazy to preheat them anyways.)
8. Cover in toppings & return to oven until toppings cooked/cheese melted/etc etc.
Now comes the fun stuff: toppings!!
I decided to try a non-dairy cheese substitute for my pizza. It worked out great for the vegan eggplant parmesan, so why not try it for vegan pizza?!
First I soaked some raw cashews in water for about an hour or two.
Once they were soft I tossed them in the food processor along with a sundried tomato, lemon juice, basil, and a pinch of salt.
Voila! Nut cheese!
I used some plain old tomato sauce, the nut cheese, and some broccoli for my toppings.
A few minutes in the oven and dinner was served!
Verdict?
Fantastic. Seriously.
Just to make sure I really liked the nut cheese, and not just all the pizza stuff going on, I used some of the extra cheese on some crackers. (Trader Joe’s multigrain flax something or others.)
So so so good. I even made the husband eat a bite. He agreed it wasn’t bad- he still doesn’t understand that it was made of cashews. Much too foreign a concept for him. Men. Boys.
Prepare to see more pizza tomorrow. I have 2 more crusts waiting for me, and I already have an idea brewing for another version of nut cheese.
And common, you have to admit “nut cheese” is fun to say….
PS I had to leave my bike at the shop 🙁 Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow night, but let’s be real, it’ll probably be Thursday.
