I adore pizza, and I drool with the memory of childhood pizzas in Rome with my family. All thin and crispy, not too much topping and hot from the wood burning oven. I make pizza up my mountain, but for some reason I can never get the dough to stay thin and crispy. It just wants to keep on rising, no matter how much I knock it back! Some people have suggested that the combination of heat and altitude are probably affecting the yeast, I think they´re right.
It does mean that I generally don´t have problems getting my bread dough to rise beautifully though. I have learned to accept that unless I go back to Rome, I will have to wait for the perfect pizza, but in the meantime enjoy my puffier, slightly saucier ones!
For the dough I use my bread maker to knead, but it can also be done by hand by mixing the dry ingredients together then adding the oil and finally gradually adding the water until the dough gets to the right consistency. Knead for 10 minutes, knock it back then cover in cling film and leave in the fridge until needed.
Ingredients (in this order) for the bread maker
- 280ml water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 cups of strong flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 packet of easy blend yeast
When I´m ready to make the pizza, I heat the oven and a large, wide baking tray at maximum temperature. Then I get my toppings ready to use.
I usually roll the rough into one large rectangle (the pizza is enough for four) and put it onto my large flexible chopping board which I have floured. This is so that I can slide the pizza, when it has been assembled straight onto the hot baking tray which gives it a nice crispy base – but if you can´t do this, just take the tray out, lay your dough on it and then work as quickly as you can with the toppings.
This weekend we had tomato sauce, white asparagus tips, hard boiled egg, bacon and crumbled mature goats cheese. Yes, not very “Plan Bikini” I know, but we were off to a fiesta and had a long night of dancing ahead of us to burn off the calories!
Chica Andaluza 
YUM! I just love pizza!
Interesting combination of flavors
Thank you for sharing your recipe
I should have called it “Storecupboard Pizza” or “I really need to go shopping Pizza” as it was made with whatever I could lay my hands on! 🙂
I can’t keep up with you! It must be Dough Day as l made some bread today! Love pizza too. I made a pizza wood-burning oven the other year out of clay dug from the garden. Really easy to do and a great conversation piece. Makes lovely pizzas too. Get Big Boy to make one for you….
Very jealous about your wood burning oven. Am trying to persuade him to build me one – have even got some really good instructions on how to do it in the River Cottage Bread Book…maybe a project for the autumn as it´s hot, hot, hot now. At last! Am off to look at your bread post now…
I’ve never put hard boiled eggs on pizza. Very cool toppings. That sauce looks great too.
I started putting hard boiled eggs in slices on pizza rather than one broken onto the top as I just prefer the texture – and everyone gets a bit of yolk and a bit of white! The sauce is just my all round tomato sauce, must do a post on it next time I make a batch.
This looks wonderful. I’ve never managed to make thin and crispy pizza dough either…not sure why, but the thicker ones certainly make a good meal. What a coincidence – today we made pizza too, tomato, mozarella and oregano. Lo Jardinier does the kneading and I do the dainty bits!
One day we´ll crack it! Your topping sounds much more authentic than mine – my Italian aunties would be having heart failure if they knew what I was doing to a pizza!
Have you tried less yeast and docking (putting tiny holes using a fork) the dough just before you add the toppings? Not that there’s anything wrong with a thicker crust — this looks too good! I gotta quit checking your blog on an empty stomach (grin).
Have tried less yeast, but it came out like a biscuit 😦 (a cookie!) but I like the idea of “docking” it (never heard that expression before!). Will give it a go. I seem to get blog updates in the morning and read them too on an empty stomach then spend the whole day craving weird and wonderful things!
This pizza looks great. I’ve also decided that finding/making just the right crust is impossible, and “good enough” will have to do. Mm, asparagus on pizza–genius!
It sounds like most people have the same “problem” – not that it´s a nasty one! I love any sort of vegetable on pizza (well, within reason – not sure sprouts would work!).
Awesome! I’m not sure about the egg…I use my bread maker for dough a lot. It’s less work for my hands.
I used to hate hard boiled egg (apart from in egg mayo) but now we have such delicious eggs from our little hens, I love them! I use my bread maker mainly for kneading too – apart from if I´m in a bad mood, then it helps to knead the dough and throw it around a bit!
How did your oatmeal bread turn out?
Fantastic! A slight sweetness which I liked with savoury things like cheese and paté. I took some photos and will put a post up soon. Definitely one to make again. Big Man really enjoyed it but I woudn´t tell him for ages it had molasses in and he spent about an hour tasting and trying to work out the taste!
Awesome! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Nice, will have to try, we love homemade pizza….RaeDi
Nothing like it is there? Still working on the thin and crispy crust though!
Delicious pizza! I’ve never used boiled egg on a pizza, that’s experimental!!! thanks for the recipe 🙂
I thought using hard boiled egg was nothing unusual – my family always did it! Methinks we must be an odd family as so many people have commented on it 🙂