Build Your Own Pizza
Get ready to tear and share because tonight is pizza night. We’ve got everything you need to make a pizza base and delicious passata using leftover basil stalks. An amazing way to use herbs from the garden (or window box), and leftover veg to create some killer flavour combos.
Makes 4 pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
7 grams of dried yeast
25 millilitres of olive oil
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
250 millilitres of luke warm water
500 grams of bread flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Toppings
About 400 millilitres of passata
Mozarella (or a plant based cheese alternative)
Herbs from the garden or pantry (oregano, thyme and basil are great)
2 balls of mozzarella sliced (or another cheese or a plant based alternative if you prefer)
Any leftover veg that needs using up, sliced (cherry tomatoes, cooked broccoli, cooked butternut squash, peppers etc)
Capers, olives, anchovies (all optional)
Method
In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and a splash of the water together, mix and leave till bubbles start to form (this means the yeast is active)
Place the flour, olive oil and salt into a large bowl and make a well. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and gradually pour in the remaining water use your hand like a kitchen mixer. When the mixture starts to come together, push together to form a dough.
Place the dough on to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and springy, about 10 minutes.
Place in a lightly floured bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
While this is happening make the tomato and basil stalk passata.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and ‘knock it back’ by briefly kneading again.
Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to about half a centimetre thick directly onto a pizza tray or baking sheet, rub over a generous splash of passata with the back of a spoon, then finish off with your choice of toppings.
