Makes 2 x 30cm pizzas
Following Swinton Cookery School’s dreamy chocolate fondant last week, we present another recipe swiped from our Kenwood Masterclass chefs – in this case the fantastic kitchen team from Waitrose Cookery School. Earlier this month at their Finchley Road branch, they gave a cohort of new Kenwood Chef owners an Italian-flavoured crash course in stand-mixer magic.
This is a foolproof guide to perfect pizza – the only drawback is that you don’t need to fling the dough around the kitchen like a proper Neapolitan (although you can do that anyway, should you get the urge. Note that the recipe below makes more tomato sauce than you need – so save it for a pasta dish later in the week.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 7g Allinson Dried Active yeast
- ½ tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500g Leckford Strong White Bread Flour, plus extra for dusting
- ½ tbsp fine sea salt
For the pizza topping
- 1 x batch tomato sauce (see recipe below)
- ½ x 250g pack grated mozzarella
- 150g pack Essential Waitrose Italian mozzarella cherries, halved
- ¼ x 25g pack basil, leaves only, torn
- ½ tbsp olive oil
For the tomato sauce
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
Method
1. To make the dough, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil with 325ml of warm water and leave to stand for 2–3 minutes until the yeast is totally dissolved.
2. Sieve the flour and salt into your Kenwood Chef mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix in to bring together.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until you have a smooth elastic dough. Place in a large flour-dusted bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 45–60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
4. To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, until soft.
5. Add the tomatoes, basil and some salt and pepper then cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until thick and glossy. Season with sugar if desired.
6. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 8 and place a baking tray on the top shelf to heat up.
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead again for 2–3 minutes. Divide in half and cover one with a damp tea towel. Roll the other piece out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin and about 30cm across to create a pizza base. Place the base onto the preheated baking tray.
8. Spread 3–4tbsp of the tomato sauce evenly over the base. Sprinkle over the grated mozzarella, mozzarella balls and half of the basil leaves, then drizzle with the oil.
9. Place in the oven and cook for 12–15 minutes until the base is golden and crisp and the toppings are melted. Scatter the remaining basil on top and serve.
Stay tuned for more Masterclass recipes on the Journal over the next couple of weeks…