Pizza Perfection
Posted: 15 September '09 by Niall
Make your own pizza
The chewy, milky, bubbling mozarella.. the rich, herb-infused tomato sauce.. the crisp, bread-y crust.. Is there a better dish than pizza?
We thought we’d join in on the celebrations for the humble pizza pie (see “Celebrate the Pizza: Pizza Fest 2009“) by making our own over the weekend – and what a good idea that turned out to be!
It’s been a while since I last made pizza, and I’d forgotten just how easy it is – and how much better-tasting you own creation is compared to anything you’ll get in a cardboard box from your local take-away.
You can view the slideshow hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8Image 9Image 10
Ingredients
For the pizza base:
- 500g of Strong white flour (plus some for dusting the work area)
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 satchet of yeast
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 300ml of warm water
For the tomato sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- A good pinch of dried oregano
- 1 tin of Italian tomatoes
Method
The Tomato Sauce:
- Put the olive oil into a saucepan over a low heat, and add the onion and garlic oil, sweating them until they become translucent
- Add the oregano
- Add the tin of tomato and mix thoroughly
- Leave the mixture over a low heat for a good 30minutes, until the sauce has reduced and is quite thick
The Pizza:
- Put the flour into the mixing bowl, add the salt and the yeast and stir with a wooden spoon until they are all combined
- Add the olive oil to the water
- Pour the olive oil and water into the flour, a little at a time. With the wooden spoon, bring the mixture together into a mass of soft, slightly sticky dough. If the dough feels very sticky, add a little more flour – if it feels like it won’t come together, add some more warm water
- Flour the work surface and turn the dough out onto it. It will look rough at this stage, so it has to be kneaded until it’s smooth and bouncy. Keep kneading for around 10 minutes
- Shape the dough into a neat ball, put it back into the bowl, and cover with a damp tea-towel, storing the dough in a warm place to “prove” for 11/2 to 2 hours
- After this time, the dough should have ballooned up. Push your hand throw the dough to flatten it and take the dough from the bowl and knead it for a minute or two on a floured work surface. Cut the dough into three equal pieces
- Pre-heat the oven to 250 or 300 degrees centigrade. Put the baking sheet in so that it gets hot
- Sprinkle more flour onto the work surface. Take one of the pieces of dough and shape it into a rough circle with a rolling pin
- Take the hot baking sheet from the oven, laying a pizza base on each one
- Spread the tomato sauce on the pizza base, leaving a good inch of bare dough at the edges
- Scatter your chosen ingredients
- Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes, until the base is cooked and cheese is bubbling and brown
Tags: italian food, pizza, recipe
Categories: Recipes
