Thin base Tasty pizzas

Everyone loves pizza right?  This is not a revolutionary recipe, but it’s how I make them and how I make my tomato sauce.  Top as you wish but I usually find the simpler the better. Too much stuff just makes them a bit soggy in the middle!  You want to get your oven as hot as you can for these. Also if you have the means to place them onto an already hot surface before baking, then the crisper (and better) the base will be.  The method given here is simpler and more manageable than trying to slide/place/assemble a whopping great big raw pizza onto a hot stone or tray and it is usually fairly successful.

Gear

• Large mixing bowl
• Surface to knead dough on (I usually use a chopping board dusted with flour)
• rolling pin
• 2 large baking trays (flat as possible)
• chopping board
• saucepan
• wooden spoon
• sharp knife

Thin base Tasty pizzas

Ingredients

For the pizza dough

• 250g of strong white bread flour (plus extra for kneading, dusting, rolling)
• 10g fast action yeast
• Big pinch of sea salt
• 120ml of lukewarm water
• 2tsp sugar
• Olive oil (1tbsp for dough)

Method

1. Place the flour and salt into the mixing bowl and make a small well in the centre.
2. Mix the yeast with the water and sugar and leave for 5-10 minutes until quite bubbly.
3. Pour 1tbsp of olive oil into the well in the flour and then add the water/yeast mixture.S
4. tir the mixture with a wooden spoon to bring it together, it should form a soft, not too sticky dough.  Then get your hands in there to shape it into a single lump. If it is sticky (as in sticks to your hands) keep adding a little bit of flour, if it does not all come together and is too floury add a small splash of water.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and fairly elastic. 
6. Pour a bit of oil around the sides of your mixing bowl, mould the dough into a ball and place in the bowl.  Put some oiled cling film over the top and leave in a warm place for about an hour. (I have a bread proving setting on my oven at 40^oC).
7. After this time the dough should be almost double in size.  At this point I slice it into two roughly equal parts with a sharp knife.
8. Knead each dough ball very lightly to incorporate any oil into the dough and then place them on a floured baking sheet.
9. Flatten the dough with your hands and then roll out into a roughly circular shape, ensuring you don’t go over the edge of the sheet (I can never get these properly circular, don’t stress about it!)
10. Top with your sauce (only put a thin layer on) and toppings and then bake in a hot oven (get it as high as it will go) for about 10 minutes.  You want to try and get a bit of char on the edges. I have mine set to about 275^oC, the hotter the better!

Tasty Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• 2tbsp good quality olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped, or minced.
• Tomato puree (big splodge, I don’t know 2tbsp?)
• Squirt of tomato ketchup
• 2tbsp sugar
• 350g Passata (Rustica if you can)
• Dried or fresh oregano
• Fresh basil leaves roughly torn
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put the olive oil in a saucepan on a medium/low heat.
2. Add the garlic and fry gently for about a minute.
3. Then add the tomato puree, the sugar and a squirt of tomato ketchup.
4. Continue to cook for another 2 mins or so.
5. Add the passata and the oregano and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Simmer for about 5 mins (careful it often spits a bit).
7. Taste and add sea salt and pepper to personal taste, followed by the fresh basil leaves.
8. Allow to cool before putting on pizza dough (apply a thin layer to prevent sogginess!)