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The perfect pizzas: pizza with tomato sauce and various toppings

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There are no two ways about it: pizza-making is a floury, chaotic affair, especially if everyone is involved in making their own, which they will be. You will be rolling, baking and eating in batches, so I suggest a floured zone for rolling, a topping zone and the table ready with boards, knives, napkins and beers. It is important the oven is at 250C/500F/gas mark 10, and the baking tray preheated. I generally begin with pizza bianca (dough simply brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt) to get a handle on timings. Then it is up to you. My personal favourite is tomato sauce, anchovies and capers. Once you get serious about pizza sessions, you may want to invest in an olive oil can with a really thin spout to finish each pizza before it goes in the oven.

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Ingredients

  • For the dough
  • 500 g plain flour, ideally Italian 00
  • 2 tsp fine salt
  • 10 g fast-action dried yeast
  • 30 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 300 ml warm water
  • For the toppings
  • 250 –350ml tomato sauce
  • Thin slices of mozzarella, capers, olives, anchovies, oregano, thinly sliced red onion, prosciutto etc

Details

Adapted from theguardian.com

Preparation

Step 1

1 In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and yeast. Add the olive oil, then the water and, using first a spoon and then your hands, bring the dough into a rough ball.

2 Take the dough from the bowl and then slap it down hard several times on a floured work surface to stretch it out. Then knead the dough using the heel of your hand to first push the dough away from you – so stretching it out – and then fold it back over. As you fold the dough back in, rotate it a little each time. Continue kneading like this for about 8 minutes, by which point the dough should feel soft and springy. Put it back in a clean bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm or a tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until it has doubled in size.

3 Preheat the oven to 250C/500F/gas mark 10 and put a baking tray or pizza stone in it. Divide the dough into 12 balls – at this point the dough can be put on a tray, covered with a cloth and kept in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Cook the pizzas in pairs. Roll two balls into roughly 20cm discs. Remove the tray from the oven, then working quickly, put the pizzas on the tray, spread with some sauce and toppings (finish with a drizzle of oil, if you like) and slide into the oven for 5–7 minutes, depending on your oven.

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