I have been making my own pizza for a number of years now, and it’s now got to the stage where it’s actually an easy evening meal to for me to do! I would highly recommend buying a pizza stone to bake the pizza on – I’ve found it really does make a huge difference to the crust, and the stone just gets better and better the more you use it.
The fact that I make the pizza myself means I can completely control what goes in and on to it; my ds gets his own little pizza with all his favourite toppings. It’s actually not unhealthy when you think about it!

Ingredients

Base Dough

  • 600g plain white flour
  • 1 sachet dried yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
  • approx. 300ml warm water

Tomato Sauce

  • 1 carton passata (or finely chopped tomatoes)
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely grated
  • salt (optional – I leave this out for ds’s pizza)
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs

Method

Before starting, put the grid in the lowest position in the oven with the pizza stone on it. Turn the oven onto its highest setting.

Making the pizza base:

  1. Put flour, salt, sugar and yeast in mixer and mix using dough hook.
  2. While it is mixing, add the oil and slowly add the water until it forms a firm but soft dough. It should NOT be sticky. You might not need all the water.
  3. When the dough comes away from the side of the bowl, take it out and knead it by hand until smooth and elastic.
  4. Sprinkle a little bit of flour in a bowl, put in the dough and cover with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place until the oven and pizza stone are hot.

Making the tomato base:

  1. Pour the passata into a bowl and mix well with all the other ingredients.
  2. Leave for the flavours to blend for at least 20mins before tasting and adjusting seasoning if needed.

Prepare your pizza toppings, for example:

- thinly sliced red or green peppers
- thinly sliced mushrooms
- sliced onion rings
- salami, ham, etc
- olives
- tuna
- sweetcorn
- grated cheese and/or fresh mozzarella

  1. When the oven is hot, divide the dough into 2 equal-sized pieces, and then take about a quarter off each one again (this will make 2 large pizzas and 2 small ones)
  2. Roll one piece out so it is slightly larger than 1 paddle (this is if using a pizza stone – if not, just roll the dough out so that it fits onto an oiled baking tray). 
  3. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the paddle, and on the pizza base. It should be quite floury and dry. Place the dough on the paddle with the flour side down.
  4. Fold in about an inch of the edge of the pizza. I would HIGHLY recommend that you also put a little bit of cheese in here, this gives you the most heavenly stuffed crust and stops the topping from sliding off.
  5. Spread the tomato sauce thinly over the base, add the toppings you want (remember, less is more) and sprinkle cheese on top.
  6. Place onto the pizza stone very carefully!
  7. While this pizza is baking, prepare the second one on a paddle.
  8. After about 7 or 8 minutes, see if the pizza is ready (the edges should have risen and the cheese should be golden).
  9. Carefully take it out with the empty paddle and place the prepared second pizza in to bake.
  10. If you can, leave it stand for a couple of minutes before cutting into it.

 

I tend to make my ds’s pizzas first and let them cool while I’m doing the rest.