Homemade Pizza
I recently taught a bread making class, and I wanted to go over all my recipes before teaching them, as I hadn’t made some of the recipes for a while.
One of the recipes was for homemade pizza. My husband was away so I ended up eating pizza, freshly baked, steaming hot from the oven, at least 3 times while I used up the dough.
I actually don’t like pizza most of the time, and would never order it in a restaurant. Except when pregnant in Italy and never wanting to see another plate of pasta again, but that’s a whole other story.
It usually gives me indigestion, so I sit regretfully with half the remaining pizza looking cold and sad on my plate. However, the pizzas that came out of my oven were infinitely more pleasurable – fresh, quick to make, and satisfying. I’d go as far as to say that they make the perfect weekday dinner.
I also taught a class of children the other day and we made these pizzas, which went down really well. They loved kneading the dough, playing with their food and choosing their favourite toppings, so I’d highly recommend getting all the kids involved too!
The only thing you need to do is prepare in advance. You can make the dough 90 minutes ahead of when you want to eat it, but I think it’s best to make the dough at least a day ahead and store it in a bowl or oiled sandwich bag the fridge. Then just bring the dough to room temperature, shape, roll and bake it. It’s barely more effort than taking a pizza out of the freezer (and much tastier!).
For toppings, you can go with whatever you enjoy or have around. A thin layer of passata makes a good base, or you can use a pasta sauce if you prefer. If a topping needs to be cooked, it’s best to cook it first before putting it on your pizza, and otherwise just go for it. My favourites are buffalo mozzarella, marinated artichokes, olives, and a drizzle of pesto and a handful of rocket once it’s come out of the oven.
Homemade Pizza
(Pizza dough adapted from Richard Bertinet, Dough)
Makes 4 pizzas
Ingredients
500g strong bread flour
10g salt
50g olive oil
10g dried yeast
320g tepid water
Choice of toppings
Method
- In a bowl, weigh the flour and salt, and mix together to disperse the salt.
- In a larger bowl, measure the olive oil, yeast and water. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix together with a scraper for a few minutes until it starts to come together.
- Tip the dough onto your work surface, and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and strong.
- Form the dough into a ball by tucking the edges into the centre and pressing down well.
- Flour or lightly oil the bowl, place the dough inside and cover loosely with oiled clingfilm. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size, or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To make pizza:
- Preheat the oven to 250°C.
- If the dough was in the fridge, allow it to come to room temperature. Then divide the dough into four even pieces, and form each one into a ball by tucking the edges into the centre and pressing down well. Place on a floured surface, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm or a glass bowl and leave to rest for 10-30 minutes.
- Either roll the dough out with a rolling pin, or ease it gently to stretch the dough until thin.
- Place on a lightly floured baking tray and spread the pizza thinly with your toppings.
- Once in the oven, turn the temperature down to 240°C and bake until crisp and golden, about 12-15 minutes. Eat when piping hot!
Want to learn how to make more delicious food? Sign up to Rachel’s classes or to the Rachel’s Kitchen newsletter.
You might also like:
These Parmesan Shortbreads
To impress with this Beetroot and Orange Gravadlax
Or try this tasty Hot Chilli Jam
