I have a little torn bit of paper, tucked under the scales in my kitchen. It’s covered in grease, oil, flour, food dyes and every other substance that seems to accumulate wherever food preparation is involved. But on it I have lists of weights and times for various foods. One day I should turn it into a book. One day a few years ago I started, Opus Nom it was called, until I realised I only know how to cook three meals. But anyway, here, for my own reference, is how to make a pizza.
- 400 g strong white bread flour
- 375 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp yeast
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- Makes 2 pizzas
- Mix flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl
- Add most, but not all, of the water
- Stir with a wooden spoon until firm
- Knead for 10 minutes
- Put in bowl, cling over, leave for 1.5-2 hours
- Grease tray
- Stretch out dough until fairly thin
- Place on tray, add sauces etc to taste
- Cook for 15 mins at 160C
The difficult bit in making pizza is the kneading. Seriously. You’ve got to stretch and wrap, warp and pull for at least 10 minutes. Set a timer, because after two minutes your arms will be knackered and you’ll want to stop. If you ever meet a nice girl and she works in a bakers, run away because she will break you. When you’ve made your dough, and let it rest, you’ll want to split it in two and roll it into a flat disc.
Use your fists to round it out until the middle is fairly thin, then work your way around the edge, pulling and teasing until it’s fairly consistent. Sometimes I make the edges a bit wider, stuff them with cheese and then fold them over for an awesome stuffed crust. (If you do that, prick the edges with a knife to stop them popping open.)
After that, eat and enjoy.
