So continuing on my bread obsession I thought I’d mix it up a bit and produce some pizza bases. I went with the classic bread recipe but lobbed in some extra olive oil (Olive oil is amazing) so it basically goes as follows

Turn your oven up to the highest it goes. Bring on the heat! Pop in a pizza tray or stone or whatever you intend to cook your pizza on and get it good’n’hot.

Ingredients

450g strong bread flour/Italian 00 flour

1 package (7g) fast acting yeast

1tsp salt

1-2 tbsp sugar

300mls tepid water

Tomato puree

Olive oil and lots of it

Toppings as needed!

Energy. Lots of energy

Lob about 450g flour into a bowl. Add 1tsp salt, 1.5 tbsp sugar, anda package of fast acting yeast. Pop in about 2-3(-4) tbsp of olive oil and rub it in like you would butter- but not too much.

Add about 300 mls of tepid water. You want it nice and warm but not hothothot! Mix it all about roughly and topple it all out on the counter and scrunch it up together.

Now, this is where it gets physical. You want to knead, squash basically throttle the dough for a good ten minutes and you’ll find it changes to a loverly smooth elastic-y beautiful texture. That’s when its proving time! You want to pop it into a nice oiled bowl, cover with a nice clean teatowel or some oiled clingfilm and pop it into a nice warm place for a good hour or so, maaaaybe two- depends on your place. I tend to put it in my oven after its been turned to about 60 for 10 minutes and turned back off so its all lovely and toasty (but not too warm).

Right so off you go and clean up (ahahahaha 😀 I do like my jokes) or sit down and watch some house or arrested development whilst your dough does its thing. When its all lovely and doubled in size, turn it back out to a nice floury surface and knock it about to push the air out of it a bit. I usually divide this into 3-4 chunks and make lotsa bases! You can leave em in the fridge for a day or two in an oiled ziplock bag if you don’t want to make 4 pizzas. So roll/stretch out your dough to your desired thickness – I like really thin pizzas but each to their own!

Get your toppings ready- but don’t add’em yet (unless you have a pizza moving giant fish slice apparatus).

I was lazy so for the tomato sauce I use a spoonful of tomato puree and some olive oil. Yay for laziness. Today I just threw on about half an onion that sliced up, one ball of buffalo mozzerella (drooool…), parmesan (everything I make has parmesan in it. Well 90% at least) and a few little pieces of cheddar for the craic. Ahem.. Did I mention I rather like cheese?!

Right. So your toppings are all nice and ready. You can put on a your spoon of tomato puree or whatever sauce you be using.

Then grab your very hot tray out of your very hot oven and put it on a nice heatproof surface. Pop the pizza onto it (see you gotta move your dough and dough+toppings plus moving without a pizza moving apparatus yolky equals disaster) and add your toppings as you please. Drizzle some beautiful olive oil on it…

And then you want to throw it in the oven (not actually throw, put nicely) and stare at it for 8-10 mins, willing it to cook. Bear in mind that thick crusts are gonna take longer to cook, obbbbviously! So take a peek and see when its all lovely and bubbling and cooked and delicious looking.

Enjooooooy!