Anna's pizza recipe

Homemade pizza

For the base I always use the bread recipe I posted a few weeks ago, you’ll be able to divide it into three so there will be enough to go around if flatmates come out of the woodwork just as you’re tucking in. The sauce is just a quick job here. You could faff about a lot with it but I like to keep it simple in this case. But if you have any old pasta sauce kicking about, home-made or in a jar, bung that on top if you fancy it. When it comes to cooking, it won’t matter what kind of shape the pizza is. I used a rectangular baking tray for mine as it was all I had around, which I think made it look pretty funky more than anything. Or maybe that’s just me…

The measurements here are for one large pizza.

Ingredients:

x 1 Bread recipe

For the sauce:

• Half a can of chopped tomatoes
• Tomato puree (about a tablespoon)
• Dried oregano (optional)

For the topping: (suggestions)

• 1-2 balls mozzarella
• Cheddar
• Olives, ham, mushrooms- whatever you like!

Method:

1. When it comes to your bread recipe, you don’t need to let it rise for so long in the first stage. Give it forty five minutes or so to puff up slightly and get some air into it. You’ll be bashing it out and rolling it pretty thin so rising isn’t really an issue here.

2. While your bread’s rising in its warm place, get your sauce on the go. It’s very easy: simply put half a can of tomatoes in a bowl with a good squeeze of tomato puree and snip up with scissors until you have a relatively smooth sauce. Sprinkle in a bit of oregano if you feel like it.

3. Take your dough out of the cupboard. Punch the air out of it, sprinkle over a bit of flour if it’s a bit too moist, then divide into three.

4. Turn the oven on to 200˚C and put your pizza-sized baking tray in there to warm up.

5. Place one third of the dough on a clean flat surface and roll it out to about half a centimetre thick, making sure to try and shape it as you roll.

6. Take your hot baking tray out of the oven and dust it with a bit of flour or dried semolina if you have it. Then gently lay your dough on top and squish into place.

7. Spread on as much of the tomato sauce as you like, then smother your creation with as much ripped up mozzarella cheese, ham and mushrooms as you fancy.

8. Drizzle over a bit of olive oil for good luck, then put the pan back into the oven, on the top shelf for about 15-20 mins. Depending on the state of your oven shelves, you can always lever the pizza directly on to them with a spatula for the last five minutes of cooking time to ensure a crispier base.

For a quick and amazing garlic bread:

Mush three to four tablespoons of soft butter with a couple of chopped cloves of garlic and a small handful of chopped parsley. Roll out your pizza base and place on the baking tray. Make two or three long slashes in the dough with a knife or scissors. Then smear on your garlic butter and bake for 15-20 minutes.

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