The Vegan Margherita Pizza

It's a pizza pie - with vegan mozzarella! I searched high and low to find a tasty vegan mozzarella recipe. In honour National Cheese Pizza Day, try this yummy margherita pizza!

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The Vegan Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

Basic Pizza Dough (makes 4 medium pizzas)
4 cups all purpose flour
11/3 cup warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt

Vegan Mozzarella (recipe by The Happy Pear)
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
1 cup water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 garlic powder
3 tbsp tapioca or arrowroot flour
2 cups brine - water with a dash of salt

favourite pizza sauce
handful of fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil

*Note - if you like other dairy-free cheese such as Daiya mozzarella shreds, feel free to use them.

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Directions

Prepare pizza dough

1. In a large bowl, add the flour and salt.
2. In smaller bowl, add the yeast to the warm water and give it a little stir until it's combined. Let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and combine. Turn dough out on a floured surface. Knead and stretch for several minutes.
4. Divide dough into four equal parts. Place on baking tray and cover with a slightly damp cloth. Let it rise for 2 hours in a non-drafty place, such as an oven.

Make the vegan mozzarella

1. Add 1 cup of water and drained cashews to a high speed blender. Blitz until combined, about a minute or so.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the brine. Blitz again until full combined.
3. Add the mixture to a non-stick sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly while the it thickens. It should start to pull away from the sides and form a ball. Once it does this, remove heat.
4. In a bowl, add 2 cups of water a generous pinch of salt. This is your brine.
5. Using a spoon, take portions of the mixture and try to carefully form a ball. Once you have your desired shape, place it in the brine for a minute or so. It's now ready to slice!

Build your margherita pizza

1. Heat oven to 475°F
2. Take a section of dough and form your pizza crust. Watch a great instructional video on how to do this.
3. Spoon pizza sauce over the dough, keeping it a 1/2 inch or so, away from the edges.
4. Place a few sliced pieces of mozzarella on top and place it in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Watch closely near the end so that it doesn't burn.
5. After it's finished baking, add some basil leaves on top and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.