Sad as this sounds I dream of making the perfect pizza base, it’s become a bit of an obsession. No matter how hot I heat the oven, it’s never enough. I want a bubbly, toasty crispy base with lots of crunch. I dream of flaming Italian wood burning pizza ovens but know it’s never going to happen in our tiny appartment. I am constantly trying out pizza stones to increase the temperature, but to no avail. I had heard of pizzas being cooked in a frying pan, so I decided to give it a lash.
Here’s how:
Dough
- 300g of strong white flour
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 170 mil of tepid warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic – crushed
- 2 shallots – diced finely
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of tomato puree
- Squirt of hot chilli sauce or a few dried chilli flakes.
- salt and pepper
Toppings
- 2 mozzerella balls
- some roughly cut parmesan
- handful of chopped basil
- fresh rocket
- Parma ham…
Topping options are endless. Sliced cooked potatoes, paprika, creme frache and reblochon cheese is a personal favourite.
Begin by making the pizza dough. Ever since I got a breadmaker I’ve gotten very lazy and just bung all the ingrediants in the machine and let it do all the kneading and proving. Before the machine I quite enjoyed making pizza dough with my own fair hands. The only difference with making by hand is it’s a bit more time consuming and takes a bit more muscle. Consider it a work-out!
By hand:
Put the flour, salt and oil into a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the dried yeast with the warm water and leave aside in a warm place. After about ten minutes the yeast mixture should become quite frothy. Add the frothy yeast liquid to the flour and mix with your hands. Bring into a dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. I find the best way to do this, is to stretch the dough out and the pound it back together with your fists. It’s a pretty good stress reliever as it happens! Put the dough in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Once the dough has risen to twice it’s size, take from the bowl and knead once again. This is called knocking back. Knead for a futher five minutes. Roll the dough on a floured surface in rounds that fit the circumference of your frying pan.
The Sauce
This tomato sauce is invaluable and I alway use leftover sauce as a tasty sandwich filler. Begin by heating the oil, add the onions and caramelise unitl golden. Add the garlic, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Cook until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato puree and chilli sauce or chilli flakes. Simmer for about twenty minutes until the sauce has reduced. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the dried oregano.
Put the oil in a large non stick pan/ cast iron skillet. Put on a high heat. Heat to just before smoke point. Place your rolled out pizza base onto the pan. It should bubble immediatley. Pierce any bubbles with a sharp knife . Heat for about 3 minutes, or until the base is nicely browned, but not burned. Flip the dough and continue to cook. Put the sauce and mozzerella on top pf the pizza. Cook for another minute or two, them place under a hot grill to melt the cheese.
Once the cheese starts to bubble, take out from underneath the grill. Add the rocket, basil, shaved parmesan, ham…whatever topping you like. Eat straight away, while hot and crispy.
What worked:
The base on this pizza is really crisp. Finally a result to rival the coveted Italian wood burning pizza oven.
What didn’t work:
This is a tough one if you are cooking for a crowd as you would need to have a lot of pans on the go. And you really need to eat these pizzas as soon as they are cooked. But they are delicious.
They set the smoke alarm off a few times, which may upset the neighbours if you have any!
