Basic dough (enough for 2 pizzas)
1/4 pint of water
1 level teaspoon sugar
1/2 oz fresh yeast or 2 level teaspoons dried yeast
8 oz plain flour
1 1/2 level teaspoons salt
olive oil
I was delighted when I found The PizzaExpress CookBook by Peter Boizot (the founder of PizzaExpress) in a charity shop. It cost me 69p! The book is now out of print and can only be bought from places like eBay or Amazon Marketplace.
Even though I don't eat raw cheese, I can eat some melted cheese - mozzarella or cheddar - just as long as it isn't too strong. I have made these pizzas many times for my family and friends and this recipe is fabulous.
Measure the tepid (NOT hot) water into a bowl. Add the sugar.
Squeeze the fresh yeast in the liquid with your fingers and swirl the liquid until sugar and yeast are dissolved. If using dried yeast, sprinkle it over the surface of the water and whisk it into the liquid with a fork until yeast and sugar are dissolved and allow the mixture to stand for 10 - 15 minutes in a warm place until froth develops on the surface.
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the yeast liquid.
Lightly oil or flour your hands. Work the flour and liquid together until it becomes a coherent mass.
Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour. Tip dough onto the work surface and scrape out any which is sticking to the bowl.
Begin kneading. Pull the far edge of the dough in towards the centre with one hand and push it down and away from you with the heel of the other hand, developing a rhythmical rolling motion as you do so.
Continue kneading for about 5 minutes, until the doughball becomes smooth and silky. It should not be sticking to your fingers or to the work surface.
If the dough is still wet and sticky after a few minutes kneading, flour the work surface again so that more flour is worked into the doughball. If it is too stiff and dry, add a little tepid water.
When the dough is soft, rinse the mixing bowl with cold water , dry it, sprinkle in a bit of flour or rub a couple of drops of olive oil over the surface and place the doughball in it. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand somewhere warm for approximately 1 hour. Place the bowl clear of draughts but not in direct heat.
If you do not wish to make the pizzas for several hours, the dough can be placed at the bottom of your fridge. Yeast does not work at temperatures below 4.5C, but providing that your refrigerator is not that cold the dough will start to rise very slowly. When you take it out of the fridge, put it in a warm place and leave it until it is approximately twice its original size.
After about an hour the dough should have expanded considerably and be roughly twice its original size. Rub a little oil or flour on your fingers and reach down underneath the dough. Gently lift the dough up and punch it down again. This is known by bakers as ‘knocking back’ the dough and releases large air bubbles which m might make the pizza uneven.
Divide the dough into two equal sections by pinching it in the middle with your thumb and forefinger. You should now have 2 lumps of dough each weighing approx. 7ozs. Roll each piece into a ball on the palm of your hand, until it is sealed underneath. If you cannot seal it, nip the cracks together and place the 2 balls on the lightly floured work surface. Cover them with an upturned mixing bowl, a damp cloth or silver foil and allow them to rest for 10 - 20 minutes.
When the doughballs have rested for the additional 10-20 minutes and are soft to the touch but not too springy, they are ready to be stretched and spread into the prepared oiled trays (use groundnut oil or vegetable oil).
It’s pretty hard to describe how you flatten out the dough - you can either use a rolling pin (but don’t press too hard) or pull and flatten it out.
When you have rolled your dough, put the circle in the pan; pat it gently so that it fits and make the edge of the dough rise a little by tapping it lightly about half an inch from the edge.
Now your base is complete and you can add the tomato and your chosen filling at once. The finished pizza takes between 15 to 20 minutes to cook, according to your oven.
Preheat the oven to 230C/215C Fan/Gas 8. Discovering the temperature at which your oven best cooks pizzas might be a matter of trial and error. Never put the pizzas in until the oven has reached its full heat.
Half way through cooking (10 minutes) I always swap the trays around so that each pizza gets equally even cooking.
The preparation time takes about 1 hour 40 minutes (provided you don’t put the dough into the fridge), plus cooking time of 20 minutes.
* Please see Sauces and Mixes for the tomato sauce for these pizzas.