For those that are not worried about their weight, Pizza is one snack you can have at any time you feel like. You don’t have to always go out to a restaurant or hotel first in order to eat Pizza. Put on your apron, head over to the kitchen and follow these steps to make your own pizza in the comfort of your home.
Ingredients
- 300g strong bread flour
- 1 tablespoon of yeast
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil ,plus extra for drizzling
- 100ml passata
- Fresh basil
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
- 125g ball mozzarella slice
- A handful cherry tomatoes
Procedure
Step 1: Make the base:
Put the flour into a large bowl and then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft fairly wet dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for five minutes until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it is not essential for a thin crust.
Step 2: Make the sauce:
Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.
Step 3: Roll out the dough:
If you’ve let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds of about 25cm across using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
Step 4: Top and bake
Heat oven to 24°C/fan 22°C /gas 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon.
Scatter with cheese and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season. Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Serve with a little more olive oil, and basil leaves if using. Repeat step 4 for remaining pizza.
NB: If the dough is too wet: Add a bit more flour and work it in and if the dough is too stretchy to roll out, leave it to rest for 10 minutes or so then try again. You need far more pressure when rolling out the pastry.
If the base is not yet cooked, baking the pizza on top of a preheated sheet or tray should prevent this. However, it could be too thick or have too much topping if cooked before the base. Cover with foil and give it another five minutes.
