I love pizza, but, like anything I only eat good pizza. We make our own pizza at home at least 20 times to every time we would get takeaway.
Starting from scratch when you walk through the door of an evening can be less than ideal unless you have a bit of time up your sleeve. However, the dough does well made the night before and left to proove in the fridge. Prepare your ingredients so they are ready to go and you can have some kickass pizza on the table in less time than it would have taken you to order and pick up, let alone the wait yan hour for it to be delivered.
Friday night, nice glass of wine in hand and you are in business for a relaxing start to the weekend.
Homemade Pizza - Makes 3 bases
Ingredients
600g Organic Plain Flour, use all white or a white/wholemeal mix, you can read why I choose to only use organic flour here.
2 satchets yeast in 1 1/4 cups bath temperature warm water with 2 tsp honey
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1-2 Tbs Italian dried herbs mix (or other similar) - optional
Method
Our method for this is completely simple because we have a Kenwood Chef ...If you don't have a similar appliance the savings you'll make because you don't buy takeaway pizza would justify your dream kitchen aid alone. Surely :) I've had the chef for so long that I don't recall making yeast pizza dough without it.
Weigh out the flour into your mixing bowl. Steven sifts it, I don't. It doesn't make a difference because you are about to belt it around so much any sifting goes out the window.
Once your yeast/water/honey mixture has a nice frothy head on it get your mixer going (dough hook on) and tip in the water followed by the olive oil. Watch it come together.
Don't be too hasty about adding extra water, if it's come together it doesn't need it. If it's not quite there then add extra water a tablespoon at a time, giving it time to work in.
Leave it spinning around and around kneading the dough for around 5 minutes, it will be a nice smooth ball at this point. Rub a little extra olive oil around the inside of the bowl, pop your dough back in and cover with a clean tea towel. Put it in a warm place to rise. On a window sill in the sun is a good place.
If you want the dough for tomorrow night's dinner cover the bowl and put it in the fridge.
Leave it to rise. We try to leave at least an hour between making dough and assembling pizza's, it needs at least 30 minutes as a minimum.
When you are ready to get started assembling pizzas turn your oven on and up to 220C, you want it hot hot hot, that's how you get a nice crisp base. Building a pizza oven is on the to do list for this year, cross your fingers for me people!
Whether you use a pizza tray or stone is totally up to you. We have perforated trays and I love them. If you only have trays that aren't perforated make sure that you oil the base because it sucks if the pizza happens to get stuck due to some sauce seepage.
Divide your dough into three equal parts, roll each one nice and thin on a floured board and spread across your trays.
Sauce your bases. Sometimes I make my own sauce in bulk when tomatoes are cheap and plentiful (like they are at the moment) other times a tin of no added anything tomatoes whizzed with the stick mixer does the trick.
Top your pizza with whatever takes your fancy (see suggestions below or Pete Evans amazing book, Pizza), pop in the oven until base is nice and crisp, cheese (if using) is melted and any meats are cooked through completely.
Do me a favour and grate your own cheese, the grated stuff in bags is laced with anti caking agents that you don't really need to eat. I also find I use less when I have to grate it myself.
Here are a selection of our favourite pizza toppings
- Pineapple & Bacon, this seems a bit obvious but it is the most requested at the moment, ditch the tinned pineapple for fresh slice it thinly and arrange over the base with good diced bacon. Top with mozzarella. I use less than half the pineapple usually so I cut the rest into chunks and stash in the freezer for later.
- Kalamata olives, Anchovies & Capers with mozzarella (Charlotte calls it the Woodroffe pizza, it is her favourite)
- Tandoori chicken: Mix up some tandoori paste and natural yoghurt according to instructions on the jar. Cut up a chicken breast into thin strips and mix through the paste. Spread the paste and chicken evenly over the pizza base (we usually put a bit of pizza sauce on first). Add strips of red capsium, short pieces of spring onion and maybe some halved cherry tomatoes. After it is cooked finish with a small dollop of natural yoghurt on each piece and a scattering of roasted cashews and coriander leaves
- BBQ chicken: cut up a chicken breast into thin strips and mix with some Beerenberg BBQ Sauce/Marinade. Spread over the sauced pizza base with some chopped bacon and mozzarella
- Zucchini, Salami & Chilli: Use a vegetable peeler to get some thin ribbons of zucchini, finely chop a long red chilli. Top with rounds of hot salami, zucchini ribbons and chopped chilli. Finish with halved baby bocconcini (this is my favourite pizza).
- Smoked Salmon: spread some moons of red onion and capers over a sauced base. Once cooked add torn pieces of smoked salmon, chopped dill and splodges of sour cream.
- Caramelised Onions and Brie: This pizza is totally decadent and is perfect to serve for drinks with friends. Slice 4 brown onions into moons. Heat a slug of olive oil in a frying pan and cook onions slowly. Add a splash of white wine vinegar to deglaze the frying pan as the onions start to caramelise. Spread the onions on your pizza base and cook. Finish each slice with a strip of ripe brie.
- Chorizo & Basil: Top a sauced pizza base with sliced chorizo sausage, strips of roasted capsicum and basil leaves. Cook and finish with dollops of ricotta cheese.
- Chicken, Pumpkin, Basil & Feta: cut about 300g Kent Pumpkin into chunks, cook in a saucepan with 1/2 cup chicken stock or water until tender. Add lots of freshly ground black pepper and squish it all up. Spread this over the base then top with a chicken breast cut into thin strips, leaves from 1/2 bunch basil and 100g crumbled feta.
Cut into slices as they come out of the oven, share and enjoy.
Tatum xx
