Recipe Book

Homemade Pizzas

Updated: 25 Apr 2015

Ingredients

• 15g yeast
• 500g strong white Italian flour
• 10g salt
• 50g olive oil
• 320g water
• Plain flour for dusting
• For toppings:
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzarella / cheddar
• Fresh tomatoes
• Onion, pancetta / bacon, peppers, etc.

Method

1. Rub the yeast into the flour, using your fingertips. Add the salt, olive oil and water, then mix around in the bowl using your scraper for 2-3 minutes until a dough starts to form.
2. Lift the dough onto your work surface. Do not add any flour. Work the dough according to the Richard Bertinet / Michael Allan method.
3. Leave it to rest for at least an hour. To achieve a better crust and taste, rest it overnight in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 250c. Turn out the dough, divide into two, and shape into balls. Rest for a further 10 minutes.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and place the balls of dough on the flour. Take one of the balls and place the heel of your hand in the centre of it and push it away from you so that it stretches the dough out. Turn the dough slightly and repeat. Keep stretching it until you have a roughly circular pizza shape of about 25cm in diameter. The edge should be a bit thicker than the middle. Repeat with the other ball.
6. Lift the pizza bases onto a floured baking tray and add tomato sauce and toppings as desired. Slide the pizzas into the preheated oven. Turndown to 240c and bake until the edges are golden brown and crispy.