THE BEST PIZZA BASE EVER.......

[Rik vonTrense]

PIZZA DOUGH....

Rest assured you will never taste a better one.....I have messed about with pizza bases for ages trying this best one and that best one and I did it because I got fed up seeing my family order these take away's from pizza hut and they cough up like twenty quid at the door....

Well I am not tight but I think that is disgracful.....so I got to work.
Now I make up a batch of what I call singles.....this makes a breakfast plate sized pizza that is just right for one hungry bod.
They take about half an hour to make but this is spread over several hours but you are not tied to the bench and you can do other things whilst they are rising.

Using an American cup........

3.5 cups of bread flour.
1 cup of warm water about 100F.
2 sachets of easy blend yeast.
2 Tbsp Honey.
Quarter cup olive oil.
Half tsp salt.
Tablespoon of Italian herbs.
2 Tablespoons of parmesan cheese.
2 crushed cloves of garlic to a paste.

Mix the dry stuff together.
Put the honey, oil and garlic paste into the water and whisk it.
Add this to the flour and make into a dough as if making bread,

Set aside to prove .....punch down after an hour and leave to rise for another hour.

Punch down again and weigh off into eight pieces about 150gm apiece.
Let them rest for ten mins covered in plastic.
Then press into circular shape or square if you prefer.
Let them rest and then have another go at getting them to the size you want either by stretching or tossing them or even with a rolling pin.

Leave to rise again but before putting them into the oven you must prick them all over with a fork....go right through them this will stop them bubbling and rising out of shape with air pockets.

I use a couple of bake stones in my oven and partly cook two at a time I also dress the stones with corn meal (polenta) this stops them sticking and I also use it on the peel for getting them in and out of the oven.

Just cook them for about seven mins at 220F so that they a just slightly brown and when they are cold or even hot they are ready for the topping of your choice..

So brush the tops with olive oil and then your sauce and any other meat and cheese topping you want to add and either put under them the grill or in a meduim oven till the cheese bubbles and browns,.........enjoy.


Tips....they will freeze very well just wrap them in cling film.

THESE ARE SO NICE THAT YOU CAN EAT THEM ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT A TOPPING.

Bon Appetite.

,

.

[Wohoki]

Thanks for that: the coincidence is incredible, as my kids have been badgering me all week to let them make pizzas again. I'm with you 100% on takeaway pizzas: twelve quid for a grilled cheese sandwich is a joke (and they add way too much salt, but mainly I'm tight: I've got 6 kids, so it racks up a hell of a bill ).

I'll let you know how I get on with your recipe.

[porker]

Thanks from me too!

I love pizza, and agree that eat out prices are a bit steep. So i will be trying this out, ASAP.

Best Regards,

[Oddley]

If you guys like pizza, check out this free cookbook. You never know, you might find a recipe you like the look of.

Professional Pizza Cookbook

NY Style Dough
Sicilian Thick Crust
Whole Wheat Dough
Zucchini Dough
Focaccia
Garlic Rolls and Knots
Cooked Pizza Sauce
Uncooked Pizza Sauce
Oil Sauces
Sunny Side Up Pizza
Cheese Calzone
Chicago Style Pizza
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Thai Pizza
Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
Margherita Pizza
Roasted Garlic and Peppers Pizza
Tex−Mex Pizza
Muffuletta Pizza
Grilled Pizza
Seafood Pizza

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TH6Z11QF

[Rik vonTrense]

Oddley ....

what are we supposed to do with this link ??

all I get is lonely women after me sausage...........


.

[deb]

My daughter has a home made pizza for dinner EVERY Friday (it's her favourite and she sees it as an end of week treat). This week I tried a new base out on her made from a pack of Wright's Cibatta Mix (used 125g mix to 90ml water and made a pizza @11"). She said it was the best yet!! It was really easy to shape too!
Might be worth a try.

[Oddley]

Rik you lucky old bugger! all I get is a link to a cook book.

If you look at the top right, you will see a button that says something like "wait 44 seconds", this time will count down, then the button will say "click to download". A little pop up might cover the button to get rid of it click the little red X.

[tristar]

Hi All,

Deb and Wohoki, making pizza for your children, shame on you both, I make my children make their own!

Just Kidding!!

Well actually I'm not kidding about making the children make their own!

It was the first occasion they had shown any interest in helping Daddy when he was cooking, they were 3 1/2 years old and had friends around to play. We ended up with 5 around the table, water and flour going every where, but at the end of it, 4 happy children eating funny face pizzas which they had made themselves, well, nearly made themselves if you know what I mean, and not a crumb left. Even those children who didn't like pizza scoffed every morsel because they had made it.

6 months later my son is helping me make sausages, bread, pizza etc. at every opportunity he gets, whilst his twin sister would rather go with Mummy to the Mall, and buy Barbie clothes. You win some - you lose some!

Regards,

[Wohoki]

Hey, re-read my post "....badgering me all week to let them make pizza..."

Cooking with children is great: best crackling in the world

[roseway]

A little pop up might cover the button to get rid of it click the little red X.

When I went there the 'little popup' consisted of several pictures of girls in various states of undress. It failed to mention if they eat pizza.

Eric

[roseway]

Cooking with children is great: best crackling in the world

I like children, but I couldn't eat a whole one.

Eric

[Oddley]

I didn't upload the cookbook to megaupload, I just found it there. I use Opera as my web browser and it blocks all that crap out, so I didn't see any naked girls.

Most malware and spyware is written for internet explorer, I get very little using Opera.

[Josh]

I too have been on the quest for the perfect base for a long time. I settle on something a bit wetter than your though as I find it, even if a tad hard to handle at times, gives a lovely crisp a light base.

I us

1 cup of strong flour
scant 1/2 cup - 1/2 cup of warm water
1 ts easyblend yeast
scant half teaspoon of sea salt
TB or 2 of olive oil.

I pulse the first 4 ingredients until combined in my magimix then turn it on for 30 seconds to knead. It yields a very sticky dough so I oil my hands to remove it then drop it into a bowl with the olive oil in. I then turn it aroudn a bit beofre picking it out and kneading it in my hands until the oil becomes incorporated before dumping it back in the bowl and leaving for an hour or two.

I shape it by hand into a 12" - 14" inch circle that tends to be between almost see through and 2 or 3mm thick with a cm thick rim before topping and cooking it on a heated pizza stone at 250 C for between 8 and 10 minutes.

Pizza heaven.

[shanew]

Heres my recipe,
this goes down a treat evey time i make it.

This makes 3 plate size pizzas or one normal 12" and one deep pan.

3 cups strong white flour
14g fast action yeast (two saches of hovis)
3 tblsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp olive oil
1 1/8 cup warm water

mix the water, sugar and yeast together in a bowl and leave for 10 mins untill its all frothy. the warm water will disolve the sugar and activate the yeast the add the oil and salt. stir up then mix into the flour. nead and let rise till doubled as with any dough.

meanwhile for a nice tomato base that can be made while the dough is rising.

1 can of napolita peeled plum tomatoes ( i think these have a better sauce)
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1 tblsp basil
1 tblsp oregano
1 tblsp worstershire sauce
salt and pepper
optional slash of white wine

chop the onion and garlic fine and add to a sauce pan with a drop of oil over a low heat and cook untill they soft then add the basil and oregano and cook for another 2 minutes then add the tomatoes and worstershire sauce and wine simmer for a minute or two untill the tomates are hot then blend or mash until fairly smooth. then just simmer the sauce until it reduces down to the consistancy of dolmio sauce.

this should make enough sauce for 3 - 4 12" pizzas. i use about 4 good sized dessert spoons of this sauce on a pizza.

Pizza dough should be ready now, i use the fan assisted oven at 220oC and these take about 10 - 12 mins to cook

also i have found that if i replace one spoon or tomato base to bbq sauce this make a realy nice base for a meat feast pizza!

[shanew]

on the topic of pizza stones, wheres a good place to get one from?

Thanks,
Shane