Pizza dough and pizza topping

Like just about everyone else, we bought a pizza oven during Covid which got a lot of use then, but has been languishing in the garden, unused for the last couple of years.  I decided to dust it off this week and tried out a new pizza dough recipe which turned out to be a winner, so I’m sharing it here for you, along with instructions for making a very quick and easy no-cook pizza topping, which also happens to be delicious.

To make the pizza dough you can use either bread or Tipo 00 (a.k.a. pasta) flour or a mix of the two.  Both are “strong” flours with high protein contents.  When flour is mixed with liquid and kneaded, the protein develops into gluten which is what makes bread doughs elastic and the cooked product chewy.  The key difference between bread and 00 flour is their protein content (higher in bread flour) and how the gluten in each develops.   Using bread flour will create a more elastic dough and the resulting pizza base will have a chewier texture, while 00 flour creates a pizza with a good bite, but less chew.   But if the urge for homemade pizza hits and you don’t have either of these flours in stock, you can just use plain flour; you’ll get a slightly different texture, but it will work.

While we’re talking about special ingredients, it is well worth seeking out a packet of semolina, which is a coarse flour made from durum wheat.  Sprinkle it on your pizza peel to stop the dough sticking and help it slide easily into the oven.  I’ve used normal flour in the past and it works to an extent, but eventually becomes sticky and less effective.  Last word on semolina – you’ll find it in either the baking aisle in the supermarket, but more likely in the ambient dessert aisle with the rice puddings, meringues etc.

 

Pizza Dough

Makes 6-8 pizzas

Ingredients

• 900g      Bread or Tipo 00 flour
• 7g           sachet Easy blend yeast
• 700ml   Water, lukewarm
• 10g         Fine sea salt
• 30ml      Olive oil
• Semolina, for dusting

Method

• To make the dough: Put the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Add the sea salt, 50g of the flour and stir to combine.  Mix in the yeast and leave for 2 minutes for the yeast to bloom.
• Stir in the remaining flour and mix until you have a soft dough.
• Rise #1: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave to rise for 1-2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in size.
• Knock the air out of the risen dough with your fist, then turn it out onto a floured worksurface and knead by hand for 20 minutes, or 10 minutes in a stand mixer, or about 7 minutes in Thermomix on the dough setting until it becomes smooth and feels velvety.
• Rise #2: Roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut it into 6-8 equal sized pieces (approx 200g for 8 balls which will make 8-9 inch pizzas, or 265g for 6 balls which will make 12 inch pizzas). Place, well-spaced apart on an oiled tray, drizzle with olive oil, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight which will develop flavour and create an easy to work with dough.

 

Topping:

• Whiz the drained plum tomatoes, olive oil, basil leaves and salt together in a high speed blender (or with a stick blender) until smooth and fully combined to create a fairly thin liquid.

 

To make the pizzas:

• Remove the dough from the fridge. Place a pizza stone in your oven and preheat it to 240C or its highest setting /or/ heat your pizza oven.
• Sprinkle some semolina on your work top, take a ball of dough and stretch it to a 10-12 inch round, pinching the edges to make a thicker rim. Sprinkle a pizza peel with a little more semolina and slide the pizza onto it.  Spread a couple of spoonfuls of the tomato mix over the base.  Top with you chosen ingredients (thinly sliced mozzarella, basil, salami, nduja, etc), then slide off the peel onto the pizza stone/into the pizza oven and cook for 7-10 minutes in the oven, 3-5 minutes in the pizza oven until cooked and crispy.  Remove, drizzle with a little more olive oil and enjoy!

 

Tips:

• You can make the dough several days in advance and do the first rise in the fridge. The cold will retard the action of the yeast so the dough rises very slowly.  This will allow enzymes in the yeast to develop great flavour.  For a slow rise #1 in the fridge, mix the dough and put it in an oiled bowl covered with clingfilm.  Leave for up to 5 days.  When you take the dough out of the fridge, allow 3-4 hours for it to come up to room temperature, before proceeding with knocking back, kneading etc as per the recipe.
• You can also freeze the dough. This is best done after the first rise and before the second rise.  Knock back and knead the dough, form into balls and lightly coat with oil.  Either place individually into ziplock bags, or put the dough balls on an oiled tray and open freeze for about an hour, then put in a bag or box and freeze for up to 3 months.  When ready to use, remove the dough from their containers and place, well-spaced on an oil tray and cover with clingfilm.  Defrost overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature (3-4 hours) before shaping, topping and cooking.
• You can also freeze pre-cooked pizza bases. Shape the pizza bases and spread with the pizza topping sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes so that they are just cooked.  Wrap well with parchment paper and clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months.  To use, thaw, top and bake for 10 minutes as per the recipe.