My partner’s favourite food is pizza and it’s also fast becoming mine! It’s something we cook ALL the time (and I’m not going to lie, it used to be our takeaway of choice back in the day!) We have a pizza oven which helps, but of which can only really be used in the summer months – the garden, beers and wood fired pizza, nothing beats it!

But it is of course January and pizza isn’t on the top of most peoples diet list at the moment. However if you make it yourself you can enjoy it! Just use less cheese, make a thin crust (less dough so less carb!) and loads of vegetables for the toppings. You know exactly how much salt, sugar (and TBH I don’t even add any so already WAY better then a takeaway one pact with the stuff), fat and calories you have in it. It’s great for a quick dinner (yes, including the dough) and fantastic for children to get involved as they can top their own.

OK so this is a little tip for the perfect dough, you need to add 62% of water per 100g of flour…s0 62ml of water per 100g of flour. Yes, that’s how much we have cooked pizza and tried to nail the best dough recipe.

Go ahead, make your own pizza and enjoy!

 

Recipe (will make 4  individual pizzas or 2 large)

500g ’00’ flour or strong bread flour

1 sachet or 1 tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 jar of good quality of passata or canned finely chopped tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 ball of mozzarella or use a small amount of ready grated mozzarella

basil leaves

Choose whatever toppings you like! – Green pepper, red pepper, red onion, chopped fresh tomatoes, grilled chicken breast, spinach, grilled courgettes, grilled aubergines, an egg (crack on 2 minutes before taking out the oven), sliced chorizo, olives, sweetcorn…anything you want!

Start by making your dough. Pour the flour into a standing mixer with your dough hook attached and add the olive oil. In a mug, tip in the yeast then add 310mls (as there is 62ml water per 100g flour and this recipe uses 500g of flour) of warm water, stir and leave for 2 minutes.

Turn the stand mixer on slowly, then slowly pour in the yeast water. It should combine together and should not be too wet at all. Leave to knead in the mixer for 10 minutes. When done, cover the bowl with cling film, and leave to rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm place. When risen and puft, tip out the dough and cut into 2 -4 pieces, depending on the size of pizzas wanted. Form into dough balls, leave on a floured surface and cover, leave again for a further 30 minutes. If you’re short of time, you can just divide the dough and use form then, but you will get a softer dough which is easier to form if you have the second rise.

Next, turn your oven on to your highest temperature.

Mix the passata, tomato puree, garlic, oregano, some salt and pepper together in a bowl.

Prep all your veg and toppings ready for the pizza!

Get 1 ball of dough, roll out to a circle and place on a baking tray or a pizza tray (we use the round pizza trays with holes in to crisp when not using a pizza oven). Top with the tomato sauce followed by the cheese, then top with all your toppings. Finish with some more pepper and some fresh basil leaves.

Cook for 10 – 12 minutes until the crust is brown and crisp and until it looks and smells delicious. Slice up and enjoy!