Basic Pizza Dough Serves: 12 at home or 30 tastes in the classroom
Equipment: Small bowl Measuring spoons Cup measure Scales Fork Electric mixer Large bowl Pastry brush Clean tea towel Rolling pin Pizza stone or pizza tray Baking tray Baking paper
Ingredients: 1 cup of lukewarm water 4 teaspoons instant dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing 400g plain flour plus extra for flouring 1 teaspoon salt
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Place the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl, mix with a fork and leave for 5-10 minutes until the mixture looks frothy. Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture and mix well. Weigh the flour then place it with the salt into the bowl. Add the yeast mixture and mix with a spoon until mostly mixed together. Use your hands to mix in the loose flour. Knead for a little bit and roll into a smooth ball. Brush the inside of a large bowl with a little of the extra olive oil, and turn the dough into the oiled bowl. Cover with a clean dry tea-towel or glad wrap and put in a draught free place until the dough has doubled in size. This process, known as ‘proving’ will take at least an hour. Tip the risen dough onto the workbench and knead briefly, then shape into a round ball, return to the bowl and cover and leave for at least 20 minutes. Prepare your pizza toppings. Preheat the oven to maximum, and if using a pizza stone place it on a rack in the oven to heat. Lightly flour some baking paper and put half the dough on it and roll to a round shape on the paper. Add toppings and drizzle with olive oil. Scatter the hot pizza stone with flour and firmly shake and slide the pizza from a paper onto the stone. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes or until the edges are very crusty and the cheese is hot and bubbling. Cut into pieces and serve…………..