Makes 4 pizzas
10g fresh yeast or 5g dried yeast
325ml tepid water
500g strong bread flour
2 tsp salt
400g Italian tinned plum tomatoes
1 heaped tspn dried oregano
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
A little semolina
2 x 125g balls of mozzarella, drained and sliced
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Method
1 Add the yeast to the tepid water, then mix with the flour and salt. Knead for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, put in an oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm or a tea towel. Leave in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size. After the dough has risen, split it into four even-sized balls and leave to rise until it has doubled in size again.
2 Make the tomato sauce: put the tomatoes in a bowl and squash them with your hands. Add the oregano, salt and oil, and stir well.
3 Bake the pizzas two at a time. Put two baking trays, spaced apart, upside-down in the oven. This gives a flat surface to cook each pizza on. Have a thin wooden chopping board or pala (a thin piece of wood or metal used for transferring the pizza to the oven) and the semolina near by.
4 Preheat the oven to its hottest setting — 250C–280C / gas 9 — is perfect. Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Scatter some semolina on to the board or pala, pull the first pizza on to it and spread over a tablespoon of tomato sauce. Top with a quarter of the mozzarella and/or other toppings. Slide the pizza into the oven and quickly pull the board or pala away so that it glides on to the hot, upturned oven tray. Repeat with the second pizza. Bake for 7–10 minutes. The bases should be golden underneath and the cheese bubbling.
5 Garnish with the basil leaves and serve.
Hi where I can find a fresh yeast here in Kuwait
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen any fresh. I use the French dried one, Saf Levure, which is in most supermarkets and you buy pizza flour here also, I get mine from TSC.
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