Ingredients
For the dough:
560g bread flour
10g salt
10g instant yeast
360g water
For the pizza sauce:
300g tin of plum tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
1 tbsp Tomato puree (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
To top your pizzas:
Fresh Mozzarella balls or pizza cheese, shredded
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
Olive Oil
Basil – handful of fresh leaves
Your other favourite pizza toppings, such as:
Ham or pepperoni
Mushrooms
Olives
Peppers
Onions
Pineapple
Key Equipment
Mixing bowls
Saucepan/pot
Rolling pin
Non-stick frying pan
Method
Dough, part 1 (do this 1-3 nights before):
Combine all the dough ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Stir till completely combined, roughly 30 seconds.
Cover with cling film, and allow to proof overnight at room temperature for at least 8 hours.
Dough, part 2 (do this on the day):
Tip the dough out, and knead it to combine for around 10 minutes. This activates the gluten.
Portion the dough into 4 even balls.
Cover with a clean tea towel, and allow to rest, somewhere warm, for 30 minutes.
To make your pizza sauce:
Blend the plum tomatoes with the tomato paste.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a pot and on low heat, reduce the tomato mixture till it dries to a pasta sauce consistency, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
To assemble your pizza:
Slice and prepare all of your pizza toppings.
Heat your oven as hot as possible (220C is good).
Roll out your pizza dough evenly.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat.
Once the frying pan is hot, carefully place the pizza dough in the pan to cook the base of the pizza.
Remove carefully, and place on a baking tray.
Cover with pizza sauce, your cheeses, and your sliced or diced toppings.
Place in the oven and bake till the top is golden brown, usually 2 to 3 minutes under the grill function of the oven or about 6 minutes on fan-force.
Carefully remove the (extremely hot) pizza. Garnish with fresh basil and olive oil. Enjoy hot!