Home made pizza

Here in Italy ,Sunday night is often pizza night and our house is no exception! Last weekend I decided to make our own and to get the kids to help.

I made the dough in the afternoon so that it was ready for the evening, and I used fresh tomatoes from  our local market for the tomato sauce. The kids loved rolling out the dough and opted for sausage and basil and one with prosciutto. Pizza is a great dinner to make together and super easy.

PIZZA

For the tomato sauce

(sugo di pomodoro)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1garlic clove, finely chopped

400g tinned whole tomatoes, pureed

few basil leaves, torn

Place the oil and garlic in a frying pan over medium heat and cook for 1 minute until garlic is soft. Add the tomato and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the torn basil, season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.

For the pizza dough

500 g plain flour

15g fresh yeast dissolved in 300 ml warm water

2 teaspoons olive oil

  

Place flour on a work surface and form into a well. Pour yeast mixture and oil in the centre of well and incorporate a little of the flour. Once the mixture has got some consistency, add 2 teaspoons of salt and work in rest of flour to form a dough. Knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic (trust me it does get smooth and elastic even though it seems a sticky mess!) add a little extra flour if you need to. Cover with a bowl and rest for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (425 F) divide dough in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other piece covered with a bowl, roll out on a slightly floured surface until 5mm thick. Place on a lightly oiled oven tray, top with some tomato sauce and bake for 15 min. remove from oven, cover with sliced sausage and mozzarella (or your choice of topping) and bake for about 4-5 minutes or until just melted. Remove from the oven, scatter with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy

x Tracey