Ingredients for the sauce:
1 tin of San Marzano tomatoes (or a tin of pomodoro tomatoes)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of oregano (dry)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons of fresh basil
Ingredients for the dough:
600g Type “00” flour or Strong bread flour
400g water, cold
12g of fresh yeast or 6g of instant yeast
12g of Sea salt
60g extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Semolina/bread flour for dusting
How to make the sauce:
Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a frying pan on a very low heat. Use a potato masher to press the down and extract all the juices. Don’t use a food processor or hand blender, as those will break the seeds and give your sauce a bitter flavour. Add all the remaining ingredients, mix well and cook for about 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool down immediately.
How to make the dough:
Start by measuring your flour in a large bowl. If you are using fresh yeast measure it into your bowl of flour. Use your fingertips to rub the yeast and flour together, as you do when making a crumble. If you are using dried yeast simply add it to the flour and give it a mix. Measure and add the salt, stir it together before measuring and adding the cold water.
Olive oil is not a stated ingredient when making DOP pizzas but it does give you beautiful tasting dough so it’s up to you if you want to add it in or not. If you are using olive oil, this is the time to add it in so measure it and place it in the bowl with the rest of your ingredients.
Combine all the ingredients with the help of a plastic dough scraper or a spoon. Once it starts to come together tip the bowl over onto the worktop, scraping all the bits of flour off your bowl, and knead the dough; without adding anymore flour to your table as this will disturb the delicate flour/water balance. Knead it for about 10 minutes, the dough should become smooth, soft, supple and elastic and it shouldn’t feel tacky.
If you are using an electric mixer, use the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.
TIP #1: You can get fresh yeast from the bakeries in large supermarkets
TIP #2: Look for “00” Type flour in your local Italian deli
Sprinkle flour on your work surface and place the dough on top. Cover with a damp tea towel and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes to relax the gluten.
Prepare a large tray by lining it with baking paper and lightly oiling it with olive oil. Using a metal dough-scraper or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or 3 pieces if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), you can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball, sealing the bottom with a tight seam. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the tray, drizzle olive oil over the dough, rubbing it in to make sure it covers all the dough.
Cover the tray with cling film and put it in the fridge overnight as it develops the flavour in the dough. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is also the time to freeze your dough if you want to have a batch ready to go in the freezer. To freeze: Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. Place the bags in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.
TIP #3: If you are in a hurry and want to have your pizza that day, just leave it in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until double in size instead of placing it in the fridge overnight.
On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the fridge. Dust the work surface with flour. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour and cover the dough loosely with oiled cling film. Now let rest for 2 hours.
TIP #4: If you proved your dough outside, skip this step.
At least 1 hour before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible. If you are making a true DOP pizza you need to fire up your wood burning oven at this moment and get it as hot as you can.
TIP #5: If you don’t have a wood burning oven it is really important to have a pizza stone as the pizzas need to cook from the bottom up. You can get these in kitchen shops or online.
Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour, flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift 1 piece of dough with the help of a dough scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured work surface and re-flour your hands, then continue shaping it. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. If you struggle with this method simply shape your dough on the floured surface by rotating it and stretching it as you go; but please keep away from your rolling pin, your pizza will never have nice bubbly edges if you use one.
TIP #6: Make sure your peel or tray doesn’t have edges, so the pizza can slide freely.
When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter), lay it on the peel, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly oil the pizza base; this will help the dough not to get soggy. Then top it with about 2 tablespoons of sauce, add your other toppings.
TIP #7: Only a few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including the sauce and cheese are sufficient. If you go for more or large amounts of topping you might end up with a soggy bottom!
Slide the topped pizza onto the stone and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, and then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 minutes to bake.
TIP #8: If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower shelf before the next round. If the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.
Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.
Topping Ideas
Margherita Pizza
Per pizza
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp of Extra virgin Olive oil
2 Tbsp Tomato sauce
Fresh Mozzarella, drained
Basil
How to make:
Spread 2 Tbsp of olive oil over your dough, this will help the dough not to get soggy.
Cover your pizza dough with tomato sauce and spread some mozzarella on top and bake as described in the pizza dough recipe.
Once baked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh basil leaves.
Pepperoni Pizza
Per pizza
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp of Extra virgin Olive oil
2 Tbsp Tomato sauce
Fresh mozzarella, drained
Dried Oregano
Pepperoni
Spread 2 Tbsp of olive oil over your dough; this will help the dough not to get soggy.
Cover your pizza dough with tomato sauce and spread some mozzarella on top. Place a few slices of pepperoni on top and bake as described in the pizza dough recipe.
Once baked remove from the oven and sprinkle with dried oregano.
Mushroom Pizza
Per pizza
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp of Extra virgin Olive oil
2 Tbsp Tomato sauce
Fresh mozzarella, drained
Mushrooms, thinly sliced
Dried Oregano
Spread 2 Tbsp of olive oil over your dough; this will help the dough not to get soggy.
Cover your pizza dough with tomato sauce and spread some mozzarella on top. Place a few slices of mushrooms on top and bake as described in the pizza dough recipe.
Once baked remove from the oven and sprinkle with dry oregano.