Home made Pizza Napoletana

Home made Pizza beats a delivery Pizza any day of the week. It’s more work but definitely worth the effort. Most delivery Pizza companies, despite their advertising campaigns, put a load of garbage on their Pizza. What Papa John says is true. Better ingredients equals better Pizza. They just don’t do it. So, here is a very simple Pizza recipe to make at home. It will take more time than picking up the phone, but, in my opinion, it’s worth it. And, much, much cheaper. On top of that, you know the ingredients going onto it are better, chosen by you. And it has that magic ingredient-YOU. You know it wasn’t thrown together by some spotty teenager who couldn’t care less. You did it yourself and put a little love into it. Try it and see.

You can of course, top a Pizza with almost anything, but for this one, we will keep it simple. Tomato, Mozzarella and basil. Easy. The dough will need to rise for at least an hour before cooking, so this needs to be done ahead of time.

You will need :

Equipment:

• 2 small bowls
• 1 large bowl
• A whisk
• A sifter
• A flat surface to knead the dough
• A baking tray or Pizza stone

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 8 oz plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried yeast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3-4 fl oz hot water (not boiling)
• Olive oil

For the topping:

• 8 oz can tomatoes, drained
• 1 table spoon tomato puree
• 5 oz block of fresh Mozzarella cheese
• A sprinkle of Parmesan, grated
• A handful fresh basil, chopped (or a teaspoon dried)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

First, we will make the dough and leave to rise. Pour 3 oz of hot water into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar, then the yeast. Leave to one side until it becomes frothy. (About 15-20 minutes)

In a larger bowl, sift the flour and salt together. In another bowl, beat the egg. When the yeast mixture is frothy, add it to the flour, then add the egg and mix it all into a dough with your hands. When th dough is mixed, it should not be dry. If it is, add a little splash of water. Also, it should not stick to the bowl. If it does, add a little extra flour. Place the dough on a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it’s really smooth and elastic.

Put the dough back in the large bowl and rub all over with olive oil. Cover with a damp cloth. (Make sure it’s clean) and leave in a warm part of the room to rise. This should take about an hour. You can leave it for as long as 6 hours, so you can do this anytime. It will also keep in the fridge for a few days. If you do that, be sure to wrap it in Clingfilm. When it has doubled in size, knead again for about 5 minutes and roll out flat.

Take the baking tin or pizza stone and brush with olive oil. Lay out the dough on the tin or stone.

Now for the topping. Drain the tomatoes with a sieve and rub them through the sieve into a bowl. Add the tomato puree and half the basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread out over the Pizza. Slice the Mozzarella thinly and distribute evenly over the Pizza. Add the rest of the basil and a small sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle a little more olive oil over the top. Leave to one side for about 20 minutes and heat the oven to 425F. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with fresh salad. If you prefer, you can top the Pizza with something else, but this is the simplest topping. Often, American Pizzas are loaded down with toppings. I prefer a small amount of topping, and it allows you to enjoy the taste of the bread instead of being overwhelmed with too many different flavors.

Buon Apetito!