As far as I can remember, the best parties I have ever had, always involved eating pizzas with my family and friends. I love making pizza dough and pizzas in general (thin and crusty sometimes or with a thicker crust, a bit like bread). Here is my recipe (I know that there are thousands out there) and my favorite topping : tomato sauce with dried herbs, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, dry-cured Italian ham and fresh arugula (basil is great as well).
The dough is quick to make (especially if you use a bread machine or a food processor) and needs resting time (at least an hour). The rest is easy as pie. I prepare the topping with my guests so they can choose what they want (tomato sauce or creme fraiche, chorizo, smoked turkey, Parma ham, or anchovies and olives…my mum’s favorite).
Ready in no time (10 to 12 minutes at 220°C – 425 F), at the very bottom of your oven (or in a pizza oven if you are lucky enough to have one).
My tip : prepare your dough earlier in the day and store it in the fridge for a slow rise. If I have some dough left, I roll it out, then I roll it in some parchment paper and freeze it. Ready to use for next time ! Have a look at my recipe for Pissaladiere, a speciality from the South of France using the same pizza dough.
Liste des ingrédients
For the dough (3 pizzas with this ratio)
- 500g all-purpose flour (4 cups) or a mix of 250g all-purpose flour + 250g bread flour (2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 cups bread flour)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 packet of instant dry yeast (6 to 8g - 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 250ml room temperature water (1 cup)
For the topping :
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 300ml passata or tomato sauce (1 ¼ cup)
- 1 tsp of dried herbs ( thyme, oregano, rosemary...)
- 2 or 3 fresh tomatoes or cherry tomatoes (optional)
- Mozzarella or grated cheese, such as Emmental Swiss cheese
- Italien dry-cured ham
- Black olives
- Arugula
Etapes de la recette
- Place the flour into a bowl, make a well in the center and add the salt on one side and the yeast on the other (try not to mix both at the very beginning of the recipe).
- Pour the water into the well and mix until you get an even consistency. Then knead the dough on a work surface for 10 minutes or use a bread machine on the pizza dough setting or a food processor with a dough hook.
- Add the olive oil and knead for another 5 minutes.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for an hour. The dough should double in size.
- Knead again by hand to take the air out then split the dough into 2 to 3 balls depending on how many pizzas you wish to make.
- Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- On the work surface, roll out each ball into a pizza shape (if you don’t want your dough to retract back, avoid spreading flour on your work surface. Without the flour, it will stretch more easily.
- Place the rolled out crusts onto a baking tray covered with parchment paper, add the topping before baking.
For the pizza sauce :
- Brown the onions and the garlic in some olive oil, add the tomato sauce, the dried herbs (thyme, rosemary or oregano) and let simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat.
- Spread the sauce onto the pizza crust.
- Place the following toppings on top (sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, ham etc…). Be as creative as you like :)
- Place your pizza at the very bottom of your oven and bake for 10 minutes at 220°C (425 F).
- Serve with some fresh arugula on top...it’s slightly spicy and tastes yummy !
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How to make a great homemade pizza – step by step
