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14/03/2022

Pizza Party

DSC08965 my-food-centric-table
Nothing is quite as fun as making your own home-made pizzas. Here is my favourite no-knead pizza dough that produces a thin crispy base, and my suggested free-wheeling toppings to make you feel like you are in Napoli.

Makes:

6 pizzas (25cm round)

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 2-4 hours proving time)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Download Recipe PDF

Ingredients

  • 1kg bakers flour
  • 5 teaspoons dried yeast (2 x 7g sachets)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 3 cups warm water
  • extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Method

  • Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and mix in water and 1 tablespoon oil to make a sticky dough, no need to knead. Cover and allow to stand in a warm place for 2-4 hours until doubled in volume.
  • Grease pizza or oven trays with 2 tablespoons olive oil on each.
  • Using a plastic scraper, divide dough into six and place onto trays, working one at at time as needed. Using oiled hands, thinly press out and stretch dough onto trays, patting out and closing any holes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
  • Top with topping of choice and bake up to 2 pizzas at a time at 230°C for 20-30 minutes until golden. Use pizza setting if your oven has one, otherwise, monitor the pizza, rotating in the oven to colour the base and top as required.
  • NOTE We cook our pizzas on a pizza stone in the smoker barbecue or covered charcoal barbecue and get great results.

Tips

  • MIXED OLIVE NAPOLETANA PIZZA: Bake pizza base with tomato passata, grated mozzarella, mixed marinated olives and tiny cherry tomatoes. Finish with basil leaves.
  • GREEK LAMB AND FETA PIZZA: Bake pizza base with tomato passata, crumbled feta and olives. Marinate 1 lamb backstrap in garlic, oregano, lemon juice and olive oil. Chargrill to medium rare and slice. Top pizza with spinach leaves, lamb, feta and extra olives. Finish with lemon, oregano and olive oil. For a vegetarian option, use chargrilled marinated eggplant slices in place of the lamb.
  • SMOKED SALMON, BRIE AND CAVIAR PIZZA: Bake pizza base spread with garlic, olive oil, dill and grated mozzarella. Top with brie slices, smoked salmon, salmon caviar and dill. Finish with lemon and pepper.
  • PRAWN AND CHORIZO PIZZA: Bake pizza with the tomato passata, grated mozzarella and sliced chorizo until golden. Top with green prawn cutlets marinated with chilli, lime and coriander, and bake until prawns are cooked. Finish with coriander, lime and smoked paprika.
  • DUCK, FIG AND ROCKET PIZZA: Bake pizza base with caramelised onion and grated mozzarella. Top with cooked duck breast slices, pan-fried figs, rocket, toasted pine nuts, olive oil and balsamic glaze.
  • MORTADELLA, BOCCONCINI AND PISTACHIO PIZZA: Bake pizza base with grated mozzarella until golden. Top with mortadella and bake until a little golden. Top with torn bocconcini, slow roasted cherry tomatoes and pistachio pesto (blend 1/2 cup pistachios with 1 clove garlic, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt).
  • CHEAT’S FOCCACIA: One quantity of dough will make 4 rectangular foccacia-style pizzas (30cm x 25 cm). Grease oven trays with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil per tray. Divide dough into 4 and stretch each piece onto trays. Allow to stand for at least an hour to rise. Use your fingers to dimple the dough, drizzle liberally with oil and sprinkle with your topping of choice – olives, cherry tomatoes, onion/garlic, herbs etc – and sea salt.
  • TIPS Bases can be par-baked with a little tomato passata and frozen for later use.
  • STYLING Use pizza boards to pass the cut pizza around.
  • DRINK MATCH Sangiovese or American pale ale.

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