Home-made pizza – easy and better

Pizza is certainly another take-away favourite like fish and chips. But, it can be made at home far cheaper and you can make it exactly how you want it.

There are basically no limits when it comes to making your own pizza. A bonus is that most kids (and adults) love putting on the toppings for their own pizza. This not only keeps them occupied for a few minutes, it also gives them a sense of satisfaction to eat something they helped cook. Pizzas are also a great way to use left-overs to really reduce the cost.

After many, many variations of toppings, I have found that the best pizzas are ones using only three or four ingredients. Too many toppings tend to overwhelm the pizza and spoil the overall flavour of it. The first pizza here is tomato, onion, and olives. The second is salami, chorizo, and capsicum. Both pizzas use boccocini for cheese, which is just a small mozzarella. We love it, but just use any cheese you like, or have left over.

You can buy pre-made pizza bases from supermarkets which simplifies the process as you just chuck all the toppings on and cook in the oven. However, pizza bases are dead simple to make from scratch, and much cheaper. To get it done, you need to be organised and allow enough time to make the dough and let it proof (rise).

For a simple and traditional dough for two large pizzas, combine 400 grams of plain flour, a small amount of dried yeast (either from a 7 gram sachet or larger packet), a tablespoon or so of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, and mix together. Add approx 250ml of water and continue mixing.

You can use bread improvers and add different types of flour like proper bread flour or semolina if you want. The measurements aren’t critical, so just relax, keep it simple, and it will normally turn out fine.

As you mix and the dough forms, keep working it (kneading) until it’s springy and well combined. This bit is tedious, but a few minutes should be fine. Leave the dough to rest in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. Then cut into half or quarters, roll or form into any shape that does it for you, add sauce and toppings of choice, then chuck in a hot oven for about 20 minutes.

You can serve just as is, or with a simple salad to make it a bit more of a balanced meal.

Enjoy.