Homemade Bannock Pizza

Pizza is, without a doubt, Husband’s favourite thing to eat. If I let him, he would absolutely eat pizza for at least one meal every single day. He likes basically any kind of pizza, although he tends to prefer thick, puffy crusts over crispy, thin crusts. I, however, am exactly the opposite. On the very rare occasion that I will eat pizza, I only want a thin, crispy crust. Oh, and not to heavy on the sauce. And make sure the toppings are evenly distributed on the surface of the dough. Oh, and about the toppings, I really would rather have more than three toppings on a pizza-why does that cost more? You know what? I’ll just make my own…

Hello bannock crust and cashew ricotta! For those not in the know, bannock is an old Boy Scout recipe for bread that you can make with just a few simple ingredients over a fire. My Dad taught us to make it as kids and my family has been enjoying bannock since I was a very little girl. When Husband and I started living together, I taught him the recipe and he’s been hooked since. In fact, we make it so often in our household that Husband can make it from scratch without ever referring to the recipe card.

But back to the pizza! When I decide to make it, I usually go all out and make a few different kinds with fun themes like perogi pizza (an idea I borrowed from a local pizza joint and adapted to suit my vegan diet) and I always have at least one pizza with (the prerequisite) pineapple as a topping. That is, until this past weekend.

We decided to make pizza as a dinner treat and I had no pineapple in the house (sacrilege!) and had to think on the fly. I had already whipped up a delicious batch of cashew ricotta and was replacing the traditional tomato sauce with good quality olive oil. I even made a log of Seitan O’Greatness for the occasion. Sliced thin and layered on pizza, it has that hearty sausage flavour and feel. After a quick look in the fridge, we settled on green olives and cremini mushrooms to round out our toppings.

If every pizza was like this one, I’d probably be just like Husband. It was perfect…the crust was dense and crisp, the olive oil gave richness, the cashew ricotta was smooth and creamy and tangy with subtle herb flavour, the seitan was chewy and spicy, and the mushrooms and olives added great texture and all-important saltiness.

Bannock (altered for use as pizza crust)

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 T. vegetable oil/shortening

-2 tsp. baking powder

-1/4 to 1/2 cup water (start with 1/4 cup and add by the tablespoon as needed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Add the oil/shortening and knead it in with your fingers. Add the water and knead that in until the dough holds together. Shape into a ball and then press it onto a baking sheet to form a 1/4″ thick oblong. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, add sauce and toppings and then continue to bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the crust are slightly browned and crisp.

Cashew Ricotta

-2/3 cup raw cashews

-1 package extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled

-1/4 cup white wine vinegar

-2 T. olive oil

-2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. basil

-1-2 T. water, if needed to smooth out the “cheese”

Grind the cashews in a blender/food processor for a few seconds to break them up. Add the remainder of the ingredients, except water, and blend till smooth. Add the water as needed if the “cheese” is too thick or chunky. Chill for one hour before using.

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