Pizza

for 3 normal sized thin pizza

INGREDIENTS

the dough recipe is very similar to the bread's:

320ml tepid water

7g dried yeast

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon runny honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

500g pizza flour (type 00)

some semolina for dusting

tomato sauce:

1/2 bottle of tomato sauce (without any flavouring)

1 tablespoon  oregano

1 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt, freshly ground pepper

toppings:

1. (cooked) ham, buffalo mozzarella, grilled artichoke, olives

2. salami, red onion, buffalo mozzarella, chili slices

3. halved grapes, ricotta, pine nuts, rosemary

4. buffalo mozzarella and after bakig put parma ham slices and fresh ruccola on it

METHOD

1. Mix the yeast, salt, oil, honey and tepid water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Leave the yeast work for a couple of minutes until it gets a bit foamy, then add the flour. You can knead the dough by hand but I never had enough time to do it so.

2. Start to knead on speed 1 and when you got a manageable dough switch to speed 2 for about 8 minutes.

3. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with oiled/greased plastic wrap. Put it in a warm place and leave it to rise for 45-60 minutes or until it is doubled in size.

4. Preheat the oven to 250 °C with terracotta or a stone/granite tray in it. I bake it on the lowest rack. Preheating the oven takes some time, so back to the dough:

5. According to the official method you should punch and knock the air out of it, but I never do it just to spare some time. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces, gently form them one by one into a ball shape and put each on a semolina-dusted baking paper. Pull them into pizza shape leaving the sides/edges thicker to 'frame' the topping. It should not be perfect, imperfection makes it exciting.

6. Mix the sauce’s ingredients and spread it all over the pizzas. Choose the topping you like. Remove the terracotta tray out of the oven (carefully it is hot!!!), slip the pizza (with the baking paper) over it and put it back in the oven and bake your pizza(s one by one) for 10-12 minutes or until their edge is golden brown.