Pizza

There is like a million ways of making pizza. There is not a single correct method. And everybody will claim that their method is the best…
My recipe is a pretty basic one. The way I was taught at home and with my own little adjustments, being the result of trying different things every time I make pizza.

When it comes to toppings – use your imagination. Whatever you like best. My rule: less is definitely more. As usual, I like keeping it simple.

U need (for about 4 large pizzas)

Dough:

1 kg of flour

About 20 grams of fresh yeast

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

Olive oil

650 ml of lukewarm water

Basic topping:

3 x canned tomatoes (good quality!)

3 cloves of garlic

Dried oregano and basil

Salt

Mozzarella (quantity depending on how much cheese you like)

Olive oil

Etc…

Sieve the flour/s and salt into a large bowl. In a jug, mix the yeast and sugar into the water and leave for about 15 minutes (until a kind of foam starts forming on top), then pour into the bowl with the flour and add about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil. Using a fork, mix the flour gradually with the liquid. Keep mixing and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

Place the ball of dough back in the large, flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a cloth and place in a warm and dark room for about two hours until the dough has doubled in size.

Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands (always nice to have a strong man around for this...). Then leave the dough to rise again for another hour or so.

Divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas – this amount of dough is enough to make about four large pizzas.

It is a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. You can either put the topping on the rolled out dough now, or bake the dough for about 5-10 minutes at 180-200°C. I recently tried this trick and I must say that I like my pizza better that way, because otherwise you run the risk of the top layer of the pizza dough becoming soggy due to the tomato sauce. Also, slightly baking the dough first gives it the opportunity to rise a bit more and become fluffier. It is all a matter of personal preference, just like the toppings.

Remember to use good quality canned tomatoes (naturally, home-made tomato sauce is even better!). I add some very finely chopped garlic, salt, oregano, basil and a dash of olive oil to the tomatoes and use a blender to make a smooth sauce. Be careful not to put too much sauce on your pizza! A thin layer is more than enough! On top of the tomatoes I like to put some good Italian prosciutto or canned tuna, some olives, sundried tomatoes and on top of that mozzarella slices. Sprinkle everything with some olive oil and some more herbs (oregano, basil) and put it in the oven at 180-200°C for about 20 minutes (until the cheese melts completely).