Wealden Times | 189 | November 2017 | Gift supplement inside

Classic pizza dough
Makes enough for 2 x 25cm (10 in) pizzas
I like to use half ‘00’ flour and half strong white flour, but
you can use all of one or the other. Be warned, though, that
if you use all ‘00’ flour you will probably need to add a little
extra, as otherwise it will be a very wet dough that might be
hard to work with. I always make this dough at least 24 hours
in advance of using it.
• 200ml (¾ cup + 4 tsp
cold water
• 300g (2 cups) ‘00’ flour
or strong white flour, plus
extra for dusting
• ½ x 7g (¼ oz) sachet of
fast action dried yeast
• 1tsp fine sea salt
1. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with
a dough hook, then add the flour on top of the water and
add the yeast and salt in separate piles. Mix for 10 minutes
on a medium–low speed. For the first few minutes it will
look shaggy and you might be worried that it won’t come
together, but leave it be and by the end of the 10 minutes
the dough should be smooth, springy and slightly sticky.
Check the dough after a couple of minutes, though, to see
how it’s coming along. If it’s really dry and isn’t coming
together, add another tablespoon of water. If it looks really
wet, add another tablespoon of flour. Alternatively, if you
don’t have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand.
2. Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and tip
the dough out onto it. Knead it by hand a few times to
bring it together into a smooth, round ball that holds
its shape well and springs back when you poke it. If it
doesn’t pass those tests, knead it for 1-2 minutes more.
3. Using a dough cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough in
half. Pressing it firmly into the work surface, roll each piece
into a smooth round, like a tennis ball. Put the dough
balls on two side plates or a baking tray dusted with flour.
Cover tightly with clingfilm/plastic wrap or soak a clean
tea towel in cold running water from the tap and wring it
out really well, then cover the dough with the damp cloth.
Place the covered plates or tray in the fridge for at least 6
hours, but ideally overnight or even up to 48 hours to let it
have a long fermentation and a slow rise. The longer you let
the dough sit in the fridge, the more flavour it will have.
4. Take the dough out of the fridge 1 hour before you want to
cook the pizzas, making sure you keep it covered with the
clingfilm/ plastic wrap or damp cloth so it doesn’t dry out.
When you’re ready to shape the dough, dust a pizza peel
or a thin wooden chopping board generously with flour.
You can either stretch the dough by hand or use a rolling
pin. If you’re using a rolling pin, dust that with flour too.
5. Take the rested dough ball off the plate or tray using a
dough cutter or a bowl scraper, making sure the dough ball
stays round at this point. Place the dough ball onto the
floured peel or board and dust some flour on top of the
dough too. Press down the middle of the dough with your
fingers, but don’t press the edge of the dough ball, as that
will be the crust later. It should already look like a little pizza.
6. The dough is now ready to be stretched
by hand or rolled out.
Tomato sauce
Makes 800ml (3⅓ cups)
This sauce is so versatile. Not only can you use it
for pizzas, but it works well as a simple pasta sauce
too and it can be frozen for up to six months.
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• ½ carrot, finely chopped
• 1tsp fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, finely
chopped
• 2 x 400g (14oz) cans of
good-quality whole plum
tomatoes
• 1tsp sugar (optional)
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan set over a medium–
low heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and season
with the salt and some freshly ground black pepper
to taste. Cover the pan and sweat the vegetables
for 8-10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.
2. Add the garlic and cook, uncovered, for just 1 minute, until
fragrant. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes on a low
heat. Good-quality canned tomatoes don’t need to be cooked for
very long, plus the longer you cook the sauce, the more water
evaporates and the thicker it becomes, which isn’t the consistency
that you want – pizza sauce should be thin but not watery.
3. Whizz the sauce with a hand-held blender until smooth,
or you could leave it a little chunkier if that’s what you
prefer. Taste and check for seasoning – add a teaspoon of
sugar if the tomatoes are too bitter or acidic. The sauce
is now ready to be used right away, or it will keep in the
fridge in an airtight container for up to a week or it can be
frozen. This recipe makes enough sauce for five pizzas.
These recipes have been adapted from Saturday
Pizzas from the Ballymaloe Cookery School by Philip
Dennhardt and Kristin Jensen, published by
Ryland Peters & Small (£16.99). Photography by
Mowie Kay © Ryland Peters & Small
147 wealdentimes.co.uk