Every Friday night in our house is pizza night! Tim is the Pizza King! He prepares the pizza from scratch, and it is absolutely delicious. Over the years, Tim has continued experimenting and perfecting his pizza recipe, and this is our favourite homemade pizza recipe.
Our very old but fantastic Panasonic Bread Maker has a specific pizza dough setting, and it makes fantastic dough every time. You can also prepare the pizza dough using a stand mixer and dough hook, or by hand, but it will take a lot longer and be a lot more work, so we recommend using a bread machine, where possible.
Tim recently switched from using strong white bread flour to Italian 00 flour. This flour is extra fine milled and produces much lighter and crispier results, making it absolutely ideal for pizza. We cannot recommend it highly enough!
Ingredients
For the pizza base:
- 1tsp yeast
- 500g 00 Flour (plus extra for dusting and rolling out dough)
- 1tsp salt
- 325g water
Our favourite toppings:
- small carton of Passata
- oregano
- grated cheese (Mature Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
- thinly sliced chestnut mushrooms
- diced green pepper
Method
Pizza Dough
The first step is to make your pizza dough. Pop all of the pizza base ingredients into a breadmaker and select the pizza setting. Make sure you put in all of the ingredients in the order listed, and be accurate with your measurements. This will ensure your dough will come out perfect every time!
Once the breadmaker has completed the pizza cycle, add a dusting of flour to the pail to reduce the stickiness of the dough. This makes it easier to remove it from the pail.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and separate into two parts.
Knead the dough to remove any excess air.
Form the dough into a ball, and then pinch the top of the dough, pulling it downwards over the surface of the ball, wrapping the ends underneath. This gives the dough ball a smooth surface and seals it to reduce it drying out during the proving stage.
Repeat with the second portion of dough.
Lay a piece of cling film over the balls of dough and leave to rise for at least 30 to 40 minutes.
Use this time to prepare your topping ingredients, lightly oil two pizza trays (we love the Pyrex non-stick pizza pans), and preheat the oven to a hot setting. We bake our pizzas at Gas Mark 8 (450F / 230C).
When the dough has risen, remove the cling film. Start stretching out the dough, turning the dough around in your hands, rotating it slowly. Gravity will do most of the work for you.
Once it has stretched to the size of your pizza tray, lay it on your tray.
You are ready to start adding your favourite pizza toppings!
Pizza Toppings
Everyone has their own favourites so this is completely customisable.
Spread out an even layer of passata, sprinkle a generous amount of oregano, and then the cheese.
Next, add whatever vegetables and meat you prefer.
Pop into the oven and bake for around 20 to 25 minutes. If, like ourselves, you have a temperamental oven that does not distribute the heat evenly, swap the pizzas around on the oven trays and turn them around halfway through.
When the pizza crust is crispy and the cheese had melted to a golden brown colour, your pizza is ready to serve!
We like ours served with fresh salad.
