Making your own pizza dough couldn’t be simpler, and is always so much nicer than buying a prepared base. Most domestic ovens don’t get hot enough to achieve that really crisp crust flecked with scorch marks, so I tend to cook pizzas in a very hot frying pan and finish them under the broiler.
MAKES: 4
INGREDIENTS:
PIZZA DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
- Two ¼-ounce packets active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 4 cups bread flour or Italian “00” flour
- 1 Tbsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
MOZZARELLA AND ROSEMARY TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 2 balls of mozzarella cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- Olive oil
ALTERNATIVE GORGONZOLA AND RADICCHIO TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
- 2 small heads of radicchio, shredded
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
ALTERNATIVE MEAT AND CHILE TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 red chile, seeded and thinly sliced
- 6 slices of salami
- 1 ball of mozzarella cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- MAKE THE PIZZA DOUGH:
Mix together the yeast and sugar with 1 ⅓ cups warm water and leave for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add the salt, and make a well in the middle. Pour the oil into the well, followed by the yeast mixture. Using a spoon, bring the flour into the middle from the sides, mixing slowly, bit by bit, until a dough begins to form. Once you reach this stage, work the rest together with your hands.
- KNEAD THE DOUGH:
When combined, tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Clean out your mixing bowl, dust it with flour, and put the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a dish towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- SHAPE THE DOUGH:
When the dough is risen, punch out the air and tip onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough for 1–2 minutes to push out any excess air, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill if not using immediately.
- DIVIDE THE DOUGH:
When you’re ready to make the pizzas, divide the dough into 4 equal balls and keep them covered.
- COOK THE PIZZA BASE:
Put a large (10-inch) broilerproof frying pan on the heat (you can cook 2 bases at a time if you have 2 pans) and roll out one ball of dough on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin until it’s the same size as your pan. Pour a little olive oil into the pan and add the pizza base, pressing it down. Cook over medium heat for 5–8 minutes until the base crisps and the dough starts to cook through and bubble up.
- ADD THE TOPPINGS:
Spread 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce over the pizza base. For the mozzarella and rosemary topping, tear the mozzarella balls in half, then tear one half into 4 pieces and dot them over the base. Season with pepper and scatter over a few rosemary leaves. For the gorgonzola and radicchio topping, crumble the Gorgonzola cheese over the tomato sauce, then scatter the shredded radicchio over the top. Season with pepper and drizzle with olive oil. For the meat and chile topping, tear the mozzarella ball into pieces and scatter them over the tomato sauce. Add the sliced cheese
