Pizza

Not the best picture in the world,
it tasted better than it looked!

Well it's been a while since I posted here so I thought that I should post another recipe. Today it is going to be pizza from scratch. This is actually very easy, the dough can take a while but there is a very quick version that I will post in the next few days if you don't have the time.

For the dough:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of warm water (roughly, you may need more)
• 2 teaspoons of dried yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Put the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast to one side. Add the salt and the sugar to the other side.

Make a well in the middle and start adding the water. Mix the water in with the flour yeast and salt, bringing a little in from the edges a bit by bit.

Once you have added enough water to the flour to create a soft dough, remove from the bowl and start kneading on a well floured work surface. Knead for at least ten minutes until the dough is springy and smooth in texture.

Oil or flour the bowl and put the dough in. Cover and leave in a warm place for an hour or so, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Next, take the dough and knead a couple of times to push some of the air out of it. Divide the ball in to two and put back in the bowl and leave for another half an hour.

For The Sauce

• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 a pound of tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Chilli flakes to taste
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• A handful of fresh basil or oregano

The sauce is really easy to make. Just make this far enough ahead of time so that you can let it simmer slowly for a good few hours.

Chop the onion, garlic, carrot and tomatoes, and then add to a large pan. Add the rest of the ingredients except the basil.

Bring to the boil and turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for two hours or so. You should check it every now and again to make sure that it is not sticking to the bottom and burning, although a very low heat should guard against this.

When it is thick and reduced, put the mixture in a blender and add the basil or oregano (I think fresh oregano works better), then blend the mixture. You may need to add a little olive oil or water to make it blend together. Make sure the salt and pepper are to your taste.


Bring It All Together

Firstly, hear the over to the hottest it will go and place a baking tray (ideally circular) on the shelf to heat up.

Now that you have oven heating up and the sauce and the dough ready, prepare the toppings. I find that the more simple the better but choose whatever you like. Just make sure you have it prepared and ready to hand.

When you have the oven nice and hot, take out the baking tray and place on a hob plate on a low to medium heat to keep it hot.

Take one ball of the dough, roll out in to a circle roughly the size of the baking tray. Then take the dough and place on the tray, pushing out to fill the surface if needed (be careful not to burn yourself).

Leave for a minute or two, then place a few tablespoons of the sauce on the dough. Spread it out but leave some space at the edges.

Put on any toppings, maybe a few leaves of basil and then cover with cheese. A drizzle of olive oil would be lovely on top of everything.

Put the pizza in the oven for about 4 to 5 minutes, that's all it needs. It will be ready when the cheese has melted and turning brown. You can check the crust to make sure it's cooked.

That's it, repeat the last few steps for the second pizza. This seems very long and complicated but once you do it it is very easy. The only part that takes a while is the dough but that is mostly waiting for it to rise to there's really not a lot of work to do for it.