The Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
| 500 g/1 lb strong white flour | ||
| 30 g/1 oz fresh yeast or 15 g/1/2 oz dried yeast, with a pinch of sugar | ||
| 300 ml/1/2 pint warm milk | ||
| Good olive oil | ||
| 397 g/14 oz can plum tomatoes | ||
| 125 g/4 oz sliced Mozzarella cheese | ||
| 16 small stoned black olives | ||
| Dried oregano to taste | ||
| Good olive oil | ||
| Salt | To Taste | |
| Pepper | To Taste | |
Directions
Sift the flour and warm it in the oven while activating the yeast in a little of the warm milk.
Make a dough and knead it well as for Yeasted White Loaf.
Smear a little olive oil all over, place it in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, and leave to prove in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
Lavishly bathe the inside of the roasting tin with olive oil (this is the most important part of pizza making and baking).
Knock back the dough and use your knuckles to squash the dough evenly into the tray.
It is an advantage if the olive oil gets worked into the dough and covers the top surface as you do so.
Do not make the edges thicker than the centre - if anything, do the reverse.
To make the topping, take each of the whole tomatoes from the can and, after squashing them gently in your palm, arrange them evenly over the dough.
Then pour on all the juice from the can.
The Mozzarella slices must then be distributed over the dough but pushed under the tomatoes so that they are covered, or they will shrivel away during baking, wasting your money.
Scatter on the olives, salt and pepper and oregano, then more olive oil.
Arrange the anchovy fillets (if you are using them) evenly.
If your kitchen is warmish, the dough will already be starting to rise again, and if the edges are starting to swell, you can bake at once.
If not, leave the prepared pizza just long enough for this to happen, then bake at 220°C/425°F/ Gas Mark 7 for 20-30 minutes.
Make a dough and knead it well as for Yeasted White Loaf.
Smear a little olive oil all over, place it in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, and leave to prove in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
Lavishly bathe the inside of the roasting tin with olive oil (this is the most important part of pizza making and baking).
Knock back the dough and use your knuckles to squash the dough evenly into the tray.
It is an advantage if the olive oil gets worked into the dough and covers the top surface as you do so.
Do not make the edges thicker than the centre - if anything, do the reverse.
To make the topping, take each of the whole tomatoes from the can and, after squashing them gently in your palm, arrange them evenly over the dough.
Then pour on all the juice from the can.
The Mozzarella slices must then be distributed over the dough but pushed under the tomatoes so that they are covered, or they will shrivel away during baking, wasting your money.
Scatter on the olives, salt and pepper and oregano, then more olive oil.
Arrange the anchovy fillets (if you are using them) evenly.
If your kitchen is warmish, the dough will already be starting to rise again, and if the edges are starting to swell, you can bake at once.
If not, leave the prepared pizza just long enough for this to happen, then bake at 220°C/425°F/ Gas Mark 7 for 20-30 minutes.
Chef
