Homemade Pizza

If you don’t know that about me yet, I’m a shameless recipe pilferer. I steal, beg and borrow recipes left and right. I’m a food raider. A pirate of the kitchen, a… well, you get the idea.

I plundered this one straight from my childhood. Every Sunday, my grandma used to make this pizza for my siblings and cousins. No matter how many pizzas she made, we would always fight for the last piece and there would never be any leftovers.

I started making this recipe myself years ago, and there’s a dizzying number of variations you can make, depending on the toppings you like.

Fair warning: it’s nothing like pizza you can get in Italy, but it’s delicious nonetheless

Ingredients for 3 doughs and a pizza for 2

For 3 doughs

• 500g all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10g salt
• 1 small egg
• 1 bag (7g) dry baker’s yeast
• 200ml milk at room temperature

For the pizza

• ¹⁄₂ tbsp oregano + some for sprinkling
• 200g Emmental cheese, sliced thin
• 2 small cans of peeled tomatoes, chopped small and drained
• 4 garlic cloves, squashed through a garlic press
• salt & pepper

Topping suggestions

• red onion - sliced
• cayenne pepper
• bacon
• cherry tomatoes
• sun-dried tomatoes
• olives

To prepare the dough

Mix the yeast with the milk. If your milk isn’t at room temperature, heat it up a bit in the microwave beforehand.

In a food processor bowl (use the pastry blade), add the flour, egg, salt, and olive oil. Turn on the food processor on low, and progressively add the milk. Keep it running for a couple minutes, until obtaining a slightly crumbly dough.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can easily knead the dough by hand. Follow the same procedure, adding the milk bit by bit. Knead until you get a dough that stays together.

Tip the dough into a mixing bowl and finish forming it into a ball. Cover with a towel, and let it rest for 6 hours. The dough will double in size.

Once the dough has risen, divide it into three equal part.

You can save the two extra doughs in the freezer, simply take them out a few hours before you’re ready to cook your next pizza.

To prepare the pizza

Preheat the (fan) oven to 210°C.

Prepare the tomato sauce: mix together the chopped and drained tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.

Roll out the dough on a flat surface (you’re going to need quite a lot of flour). Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Spread the tomato sauce on top of the pizza. Cover it with the cheese.

You can choose any topping you want! I usually put at least the red onion and bacon, and then whatever I have available. Use your imagination!

Sprinkle some oregano and a drizzle of olive oil, then bake for 25 minutes. Unless you have a really even oven temperature, I would recommend turning the pizza around halfway through the cooking time.

Take out of the oven, let cool for a minute (if you want to save yourself some pretty bad burns) and slice it up!

Don’t mind the bacon around the pizza, I had some extra and I made a snack out of it.