In my family, pizza is an all time favourite and we probably spend way more than we should on ones from the take-away so I decided to create my own from scratch. I really enjoyed making the pizzas and love how home-made allows them to be tailored to everyones needs, having 'cheese' on mine made the effort totally worth it and everyone else really enjoyed theirs too. I made 6 large pizzas (roughly 10in) with this recipe but it can easily be used to make more or less of varying sizes. I haven't really included instructions for toppings as I know everyone has their favourite, be it veggie or meaty, or even just loads of cheese but the basics of this recipe will carry you through and beat a takeaway any time. I did try and learn how to spin and stretch pizzas by hand from YouTube but I have to admit, my trusty rolling pin won this time.
Ingredients:
1kg strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 x 7g packets of fast action yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
650ml lukewarm water
1kg cherry tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
1/2 tube tomato puree
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
your choice of toppings and cheese
Method:
Combine the salt and flour in a bowl and set to one side. In a jug add the olive oil, sugar and yeast to the warm water and leave to stand for a few minutes until it starts to look like something out of an alien movie. Add the water mix to the flour mix and slowly bring together to create a soft dough. Tip this onto a floured surface and kneed until the dough is stretchy, smooth and pings back when compressed. Place in a bowl with a damp tea towel over the top in warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
While the dough is proving, take a large frying pan and heat the olive oil over a medium heat then add in the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes start to soften, roughly chop and add the garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are easily mashed with a spoon and releasing juice.
Blend the sauce until its sauce until its smooth then add in the tomato puree and salt and pepper to taste. I used a stick blender but a food processor would work equally well. Pop the sauce back into the pan and cook over a low heat until its thick and starts to stay in place when a spoon is pulled through it. Place to one side ready for spreading on the pizzas.
Preheat your oven as hot as it goes, the quicker the pizzas cook the better the texture. Prep all of your desired toppings and make sure you have grated at least double the cheese you think you'll need.
Take the dough and knock out the air before turning onto a well floured surface. Shape the dough into a long sausage and divide into 6 using a sharp knife. Shape each piece into a ball then roll out to around the thickness of a pound coin, making sure there is plenty of flour as the dough is sticky.
Once a pizza base is rolled out, place on a baking tray or pizza tray - I picked some up at the supermarket. Spread the base liberally with the tomato sauce then scatter with your toppings and layer on the cheese. Pop in the oven and bake for 4- 5 minutes until the crusts are crispy and the cheese is melted. Repeat the process until all of the dough is used and everyone has their desired pizza.
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