Friday, Paul and I decided to play Masterchef-Masterchef and make our own pizza instead of going out for a Valentines dinner. It was ambitious considering we had to get home from work, buy the ingredients and only THEN begin this culinary quest and I was in a cranky mood after a rough work week but Paul poured me a huge glass of red and we all know Jenna is a better person after wine. My advice – premake the dough or have snacks to keep the hunger at bay while you wait for the dough to set!
We made the dough, cooked the sauce and cut up a nice spread of gourmet toppings. We ate like hungry savages at about 9:30 pm but still had enough leftovers for round 2 for lunch the next day.
The Best Pizza Dough
15 grams dried yeast
20 grams salt
20 grams castor sugar
250 grams lukewarm water
Table spoon olive oil
3 cups plain cake flour
Whisk all ingredients except the flour. Once mixed, fold in the flour and begin to create the dough. Kneed well until dough is stretchy and tempting to play with forever.
Cover and put in a warm place until it doubles in size. Resist the urge to eat it raw. Roll out into thin bases and pierce several times with a fork. Pop into the oven at approx. 200 degrees and allow to fluff up and crisp before taking out, adding sauce and toppings and putting back in to cook through.
The Best Pizza Sauce
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tin tomato paste
3-4 table spoons brown sugar
Pinch chili
2 table spoons olive oil
Handful fresh basil
Few stalks thyme or oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Add all ingredients into a pot and bring to the boil. Bring to a low heat and allow to reduce for approx. an hour until it is a thick and textured sauce. Also yum on pasta. Or your fingers.
Toppings
Feta
Mozzarella
Fig Preserve
Avo
Peppadews
Rockets
Mushrooms
Red Peppers
Salami
Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Cherry tomatoes
Tips:
You can make this a vegan pizza by keeping the cheese off and adding lashings of sauce instead.
Set a little outside picnic for two and enjoy your creation.
Make sure to wear a black dress and get flour EVERYWHERE. Ensure that it appears that you have an inherent coke addiction before having your pics taken – flour on the forehead does the trick.
