‘So you think you can cook’ Sunday – Pizza

 

Pizza is a staple in our house.  Usually it’s Saturday night food, but as my teenage daughter has been missing out lately (because of all her partying on Saturday nights) we thought we’d be nice and have it tonight instead.

The basic pizza dough is the same as the bread we make:

• 8 cups flour (plain or  a mix of any sort you like)
• 1 Table spoon of bread improver (or vitamin c powder, or juice of 1 orange)
• 1 1/2 Table spoon of powdered yeast
• pinch each of salt and sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of oil
• about 1 litre of warm water

Mix all the dry ingredient together, then add the oil and half of the water. Mix.  Add half of the remaining water and mix again.  Keep adding half the water until the mixture look right – sticking together but not too sticky.

Cover and put in a warm spot for an hour or two, or in a sink of warm water if you can’t find a warm spot.

When it has about doubled in size tip it out onto a floured bench and knead it for a few minutes.  This amount make 2 loaves of bread, or one loaf and 4 pizza bases, which is what we normally do.  Use a long spatula to cut the dough in half, and then quarters, an knead until smooth balls.  Put 2 of the balls in a greased bread or loaf tine  (or on a flat tray, and even into roll shapes).  Cut the other two balls in half again and roll out to pizza shapes and sizes to fit your trays.  Do rectangles if you don’t have round trays.

Pre heat your oven (about 22 egress Celsius) for about 15 minutes.  Put the pizza bases in for about 10 minutes each to pre cook them before you put on toppings.  When they are done, the loaf should have risen, so put in it for about half an hour (if you tap it it sounds hollow when one). 

If you do the pizza toppings (we do mostly tomato pasta sauce, mushrooms, bacon or salami, olives or onions and sliced cheese, or salmon, red onion, cream cheese and capers  and some fresh herbs) while the bread is cooking you can stick the pizzas back in straight away. 

15 minutes later and - 

Delicious!

Enjoy, Deb xx