There’s no denying it, homemade pizzas are the perfect summer crowd-pleaser for adults and kids alike. With endless topping options for vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores, they’re as versatile as they are delicious, and sure to impress your guests this summer.
Alternatively, slice them up, and pop them in the freezer for up to three months. Hello fuss-free work/school lunches!
Homemade pizza dough
We have long been homemade-pizza-dough-sceptics. For years we thought that dough sounds too fiddly, too time-consuming, and too difficult to make. How wrong we were! We promise you this dough is easy to make and work with, and 100% worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups warm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
- 1 tbs raw sugar
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ½ cups premium bakers flour
Homemade Pizza Toppings
Options are endless for toppings! It’s hard to go wrong, so use whatever tickles your fancy!
You might try:
- Pesto
- Tomato puree (store-bought, or homemade)
- Shredded mozzarella
- Bocconcini
- Cherry tomatoes
- Capsicums (green, red, or yellow)
- Basil
- Olives
- Ham/prosciutto
- Artichokes
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Roasted pumpkin
- Feta
- Chilli oil
Method
- Combine water, yeast and sugar in large glass bowl. Whisk until there are no lumps, and leave covered for five minutes.
- Add olive oil, salt and flour. Mix with wooden spoon until mostly combined.
- Spread flour lightly over a clean work surface, and knead dough for five minutes. After kneading, poke the dough with your finger. If it bounces back slowly it is ready to rise. If not, knead for a little longer.
- Grease your bowl with a little extra olive oil. Place dough in the bowl, ensuring it is coated in the olive oil. Cover it, and set aside to rise for at least 60-90 minutes. It should double in size during this time.
- Now it’s time to preheat your oven to 250°C, and to prepare your baking trays. To do this, lightly grease a baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
- When your dough has risen, you need to shape it. Punch the dough down to release air bubbles, and then divide into three equal parts.
- On a lightly floured workspace, roll each section of dough out and shape into a round disc. Pinch edges down to create a crust/rim.
- Once your pizza bases are prepped, top with all your favourite toppings!
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
- Enjoy!
