Authentic Homemade Pizza Bases Recipe
October 14th 2011 02:10
The pizza dough takes time to rise so I make the dough in the afternoon and by dinner time it is ready to roll out and top with yummy ingredients.
‘Bread improver’ contains secret ingredients known only to bakers. It is not an essential ingredient but it does make yeast dough rise better.
The following recipe makes two large pizza bases.
Ingredients
500g (1 lb) Plain flour
8g (¼ oz) Dried yeast
1 pinch Salt
50g (2 oz) Sugar
1 tspn Bread improver (optional)
50g (2 oz) Melted butter
1 Egg white (beaten)
300ml Water (room temp)
Method
Sift the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and bread improver into a large mixing bowl.
Add the beaten egg white, melted butter and half the water.
If using an electric mixer, use the dough hook attachment and beat on low speed, otherwise use a wooden spoon.
Begin mixing, adding the remaining water bit by bit until a firm dough is formed.
It may not be necessary to use all the water.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead vigorously until you can take a pinch of dough and stretch it, rather than tearing it off.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with cling film or a damp tea towel, and place it in a warm place to prove.
After an hour or two the dough will double in size.
Halve the dough into two balls and roll into flat discs, using a rolling pin or an empty bottle.
This is known as ‘knocking back’ the dough.
Grease and flour a thin baking tray.
Pick up a disc of dough by wrapping it around the rolling pin and place it onto the tray.
Place the pizza base in a warm place for another half hour or so to allow it to swell again.
Prick the base with a fork to prevent bubbles of trapped air from forming.
Top the pizza base with your favourite sauce and toppings.
It is tempting to overload the pizza with toppings but this can cause the pizza to be soggy. When it comes to pizzas, sometimes less is better.
Bake the pizza on the top shelf of a hot oven (220°c) for about 12 minutes.
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