basic bread dough (great for pizza)
1kg Strong(Bread) Flour (a mix of fine semolina (flour) and strong wheat flour makes for a crunchier crust)
600 ml Warm Water
1 Tbsp Yeast
Salt to Taste (flour can take a lot of salt)
Pinch of sugar
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and let it sit for about 10 minutes until the yeast blooms (froths).
Work the flour and salt in to the the liquid bringing together and then tip out on to a work surface and kneed for about 10 minutes (until the dough is smooth and elastic).
Put in a covered bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes to an hour (until it has at least doubled in size, depending on room temperature etc this could take longer than an hour).
Once it has doubled you could pull off balls and roll out in to pizza bases, but it is better to knock it back and let it double in size again.
Take a chunk of dough about the size of an orange and on a floured surface roll out with a rolling pin making sure it doesn't stick. I prefer a thin base for my pizza but you can have what ever thickness you desire, just add a minute or two for cooking times.
Place a tray on the middle shelf of your oven and heat to 225°C (fan if you have it)
Once the oven is hot, and your pizza assembled (best to do this just before it goes in the oven).
Take the tray out of the oven and slide the pizza on to it and put back in the oven (I find it easiest to have the pizza on a sheet of baking paper and transfer that to the tray).
If you have a thinnish base and not overloaded with toppings the pizza should only take 10 minutes max.
You can easily get 6 - 8 thin crust pizzas from the quantities in this recipe.
You can also use it to make pita breads.
- Don't use semolina in the dough mix.
- Use a smaller ball of dough and don't roll too thick.
- Have the tray in the lower third of the oven and temperature the highest your oven will go.
- Place the rolled out dough on the tray (don't take it out of the oven, but be careful not to burn yourself)
- They will take about 2 minutes to cook.
