There are those that think. And those that do. To phrase it differently, sometimes life is all about rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in. Sure you could just order a pizza, but why not have a go at making your own? Trust us: there’s nothing more satisfying than tucking into a slice of ‘za made with love. Sounds good but not sure where to start? We’ll walk you through the process with this simple pizza recipe.
Fun fact
Pizza was invented until the 19th century, on the streets of Naples. These circular dishes of deliciousness were a form of fast food.
Ingredients for your basic pizza recipe
Let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the good stuff! The ingredients below will be enough to make 4 12-inch pizzas. Let’s go!
You will need:
7 cups (1kg) all-purpose flour
600 mL of warm water
2.5 – 3 tablespoons (25 grams) of fresh yeast or 2 teaspoons (7-8 grams) of dried yeast.
2 teaspoons sugar
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1.5 teaspoons salt
Got everything? Now it’s time to get your dough on point
Dough-nt underestimate the significance of your dough (see what we did there?). Any pizza recipe lives or dies according to how well you make your dough. Why? Your dough will determine texture of your pizza, the balance of flavours and the thickness of your slice. Follow the steps below for a doughy masterpiece.
The six steps to perfect pizza dough
- First up: add the yeast into a bowl of lukewarm water. Then stir the mixture until the yeast dissolves
- Take your flour and create a mound on a table top surface. Create a divot in the centre of the mound.
- Now pour your yeast and water mixture, along with the other ingredients, into the dent at the top of your flour mound.
- Now it’s time to Knead everything together about 15 minutes. Make sure the dough is stretchy and smooth until the dough is smooth
- Grab another bowl and grease it up with a little olive oil. Then put the dough inside the bowl and turn it around – ensuring the top is oiled.
- Finally cover the bowl and put your dough aside. It’s good to let it rest for about five hours.
Bring the heat to your pizza recipe
We want everyone to be able to have a bash at this pizza recipe – whether you have a pizza oven or not. If you are using a regular oven, you will need to preheat to roughly 200°C. For most pizza ovens, 200°C is a minimum temp starting point. So if you’re firing up your pizza oven, use the a minimum amount of wood – you don’t need an inferno!
Insert pizza making
Prep your pizza
It’s time to revisit your dough! Take your dough out of your bowl and put it back onto your floured tabletop. Ready for the fun but? Make a fist and get to punching your dough. This will get rid of any air bubbles.
Now simply split your dough in half. Let it rest for a couple of mins.
Grab a rolling pin and get to rolling. Basically roll each section of dough into a 12-inch disc.
Move your dough onto an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan.
Get your base on. Add some tomato sauce and spread it all over your pizza base.
Bake your pizza
Pop your pizzas in the oven and let them bake each pizza for 10 mins, then add your mozzarella and fave toppings.
Now it’s a waiting game. Finish up baking your ‘za until your crust is lovely and brown and your cheese is goo-tastically melted.
Remove your pizzas from the oven and enjoy!
Fun fact
Do you know the story of the Margherita pizza? Basically, when Queen Margherita visited Naples in 1889, a local pizza baker made a pizza in her honour, recreating the colors of the Italian flag – red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil.
See? Making a pizza isn’t as complicated as you might think. Just follow these basic steps and you will be a pizza maestro in no time at all. Oh and if you’re looking for any wood, logs, chips or chunks for your pizza oven, then head over to bigkproducts.co,uk and fill those hungry little boots of yours. We have everything from oak chunks and Forno oven logs to wood pellets, cherry chunks and more. Check out our online Pizzeria Range right now.