i've never thought of trying to make my own pizza, aside from buying that boboli stuff and topping it with things. but, after seeing the naked chef make it look really easy and delicious, i figured i'd give it a try. it took a little time. i've made dough from scratch one other time, but had my mom helping me out the entire way, so it seemed easier.
first of all, the counters here are tiled with grout ridges in them, so i didn't have a good surface to work on kneeding the dough. i used a baking sheet that wiggled back and forth... really need to invest in a good butcher's block for this stuff! i don't have a rolling pin either, so i just had to stretch out the dough with my hands. it was a lot of work because the dough was a little sticky and kept shrinking back from the shape.
eventually, i managed to make 8 thin pizza crusts. we left them on the foil and put them straight on the racks in the oven. although, after 10 minutes they weren't cooked enough, 5 minutes more did the job. the crust had a nice flavor to it, reminded me of "terry's pizza" back home, except no where near as greasy.
i'd recommend you trying this, if you've got the time and desire. it really isn't all that hard. the dough was sticky so i kept adding a little more flour to help out with that. in the end, i should have been more careful to brush it off the crust because it left the cooked crust a little dusty. but, didn't really distract from the flavor. and, it'd probably be ideal to have a rolling pin.
pizza
jamie oliver, the Naked Chef
2 pounds, 3 ounces strong bread flour
1 ounce sugar
1 ounce salt
1 ounce dried yeast
1 pint tepid water
2 tablespoons olive oil
toppings, recipes follow
Put the flour onto a work surface or use a bowl, if you are short of space. Using your fingers, make a big well in the middle of the flour. Add the sugar, salt and yeast then pour in the tepid water and olive oil.
Using a fork, make circular movements from the center moving outwards, slowly bringing in more of the flour until all the yeast mixture is soaked up. This should be starting to look like dough now so you can start to work and knead it until it is smooth. This should take around 4 minutes. Roll out to a sausage shape and divide into 8 or 10 balls, depending on how large you want the pizzas to be.
Flour the surface and roll each pizza out to about the thickness of 3 beer coasters (1/3 of an inch). They don't have to be perfectly round, they should look home-made. Place each pizza on a lightly oiled and floured piece of tin foil. Flour the top of the pizza, placing another on top of it. Flour that and repeat this until all the pizzas are stacked together, with a piece of foil in between each layer.
These can be frozen for a couple of months, placed in the fridge for 10 hours, or cooked straight away. Lightly top with your chosen topping (the simpler the better) and bake directly on the oven bars for 10 minutes at your oven's highest temperature (*author note: around 500ºF for 15 minutes is usually perfect for me).
Toppings:
Tomato:
8 plum tomatoes
Sprinkle dried oregano
Drizzle olive oil
For enough to cover eight bases, chop and de-seed plum tomatoes, dry with kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little dried oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.
Various topping ingredients:
Sliced mozzarella
Rocket (Arugula)
Parmesan
Olives
Sun-dried tomatoes
Artichoke hearts
Prosciutto
Panchetta
Any interesting cheeses - use your imagination
Yield: 8 (10 inch) pizzas
Posted by mmharlan at December 11, 2001 12:57 AMThanks so much for posting this recipe. I've been looking all over the internet for it. I too saw that show and was dying to try it to see if it was as simple as it looked. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks again!
no problem, kate. i've used this recipe several times since that first try and it's one of my favorites. once you get the hang of it all, it's a lot easier and less intimidating.
good luck!!
Posted by: michelle on January 7, 2003 03:01 PMNice site you have!
Posted by: lolita on November 4, 2003 06:23 AM