Pizza Florentina Recipe

Directions:

1. For the crust: Mix warm water and 1/6 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl; ensure that it is lukewarm, and then add the yeast.
2. Shake the bowl gently to mix the yeast.
3. Cover and leave in a warm place until the granules of yeast disappear and the mixture becomes frothy, around 10 to 15 minutes (If the mixture does not froth, discard it and prepare the yeast all over again).
4. In a small pan, mix milk, 1 1/2 tsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar; keep aside.
5. When the yeast mixture becomes frothy, heat the milk mixture until lukewarm and add the yeast mixture to the lukewarm milk mixture.
6. Now add this yeast-milk mixture to the all-purpose flour and knead well to make a smooth dough; add extra flour if the mixture is too sticky.
7. Grease a large polythene bag.
8. Brush the dough with some of the 1 teaspoon olive oil (for brushing) and put it in the bag.
9. Cover and keep it in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour or until it is double in size.
10. After an hour, punch it down to the original size, brush with a little oil and keep it back in the bag for another 15 minutes or until it rises again.
11. Prepare the sauce and the toppings during the hour that the dough is rising.
12. For the tomato sauce: Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a saucepan, over medium-high heat.
13. Add the garlic, stir, and immediately add all the other sauce ingredients.
14. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has reduced in quantity and is thick enough to spread without being runny.
15. Set the sauce aside.
16. For the topping: Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the chopped onions; stir, add the baby corn and saute until it changes colour (about 5 to 10 minutes).
17. Add salt, pepper, oregano, fresh tomato puree, and spinach.
18. Cook on a high flame until the mixture becomes dry and the baby corn is cooked.
19. Add the grated nutmeg and mix well.
20. To assemble the pizza:.
21. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
22. Grease a 10-inch square aluminium foil sheet.
23. Roll out the dough a little on the aluminium sheet and flatten it using your fingers into a thin circle or oval, approximately 1/4 inch thick.
24. Prick the base with a fork.
25. Brush pizza base with the remaining olive oil.
26. Spoon the tomato sauce over the base, leaving 1/2 inch all around the edges; brush the edges with olive oil.
27. Sprinkle with one-fourth of the grated cheese.
28. Now spread the prepared topping and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
29. Place the pizza (along with the aluminium foil) on the wire rack of the preheated oven and bake at 180 degrees Celcius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
30. Serve hot.
31. Finally!