Once you've had a home made pizza, shop-bought ones just don't cut it. I grew up on home made pizzas; Sunday nights were pizza night in our family and they really were the best. My Mum was a busy woman so she often used the bread machine to mix up the dough; but I won't have the luxury of owning a bread machine when I move out so it was time I learnt to make my own pizza from scratch. Got to keep up the high-quality pizza standards!
I've gone for a classic Italian-style pizza for this but I would like to note that sun-dried tomato pesto is one of the best bases for a pizza - if you happen to find yourself having one of those days where you can't be bothered to make your own tomato sauce!
Right, let's kick off pizza night!
For two pizzas, you will need:
300g bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
200ml warm water
100ml tomato puree
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 garlic glove, finely chopped
1 big ball of mozzarella cheese
Whatever you want for the topping!
Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the middle (don't ask me why, that's what Jamie Oliver told me to do) and pour in the water and oil.
Mix it up!
On a floured surface, knead the dough until you have a round ball.
Split the dough in half and then roll out until it is thin. Don't worry about getting a perfect circle; weird shapes add character to your pizza! Lightly oil two baking sheets and lay out your pizza bases.
Mix your tomato puree, basil and garlic together.
Spread evenly across your dough.
Then top with whatever you like! I made one of mine a classic margherita with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil leaves and then decorated then other with mozzarella, chorizo, red peppers and olives. I also added a small sprinkling of cheddar cheese to both.
Bake at 180c for 10-12 minutes.
Home made pizza is unbelievably simple to make, yet tastes amazing and brings that little bit of Italy into your kitchen. Enjoy!
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