Pizza Dough! A Fail safe recipe for home made pizzas

I honestly think learning to make pizza dough was the best thing I could ever do! I love pizza and having the freedom to make you own exactly how you want it and knowing exactly what went into every part of it is the best way forward.

I have quite a few pizza recipes shared on Veghotpot but I decided to share just the recipe for the dough this time because one of the beauties of pizza is being able to create your own topping combination. I have tried putting pretty much everything on a pizza base – standards like roasted veg or pesto and non standards like beetroot and even potato.

My favourite pizza for when I’m feeling a bit lazy and in need of comfort is a wilted spinach base with an egg cracked in the middle  topped with some chilli oil once baked (No Cheese). It’s a weird one but it just works for me every time!

I’ve had a few friends and family say that they are put off making pizza from scratch because the idea of making dough is quite daunting. So I have done a step by step guide to show you how easy it can be. This is my fail safe basic pizza dough recipe. It is not gourmet or artisan but trust me it is easy, delicious and worth it!

For two pizza bases (You can freeze one for a fuss free home made pizza at a later date)

210g Strong White Bread Flour
1 1/2 tspn Dried Yeast
1 tblspn Olive Oil
Pinch Salt
110ml Luke Warm Water

Mix together flour, yeast and salt

Combine then create a well in the middle

Pour the oil into the well

Add lukewarm water (not boiling water as this will kill the yeast)

Begin to combine with a wooden spoon working the dough from the middle and slowly including the outside flour. Don’t add too much extra water at this stage! It will come together and if needed then add water 1 tablespoon at a time.

Continue to mix until it forms a dough. Don’t be worried if it’s a tiny bit flaky, it will come together when kneaded.

Spread flour on to a clean surface

Tip the ball of dough on to the surface and shape into a ball

Knead the dough for 5 minutes. I do this by punching my fist down in the middle to flatten the ball then fold the edges inwards and repeat. As you press your fist down push outwards to spread the dough flat again. Really work it for the 5 minutes and feel free to use both hands.

Once kneaded you will see it is much smoother and more elastic. Shape into a round ball again and lightly coat with some olive oil.

Place into a large bowl and cover with cling film or a clean tea towel.

Place the bowl somewhere warm for around an hour and a half. If you have to leave it for a long time, such as overnight, then place it somewhere less warm. I have even just put mine in the fridge because I was leaving it for 9 hours and it rose just much slower.

Once risen to about double the size cut the dough into two equal pieces and place back on to a floured surface.

Using a rolling pin roll the dough out until it is about 3mm thin for a very crispy base or around a cm thin for a more ‘doughy’ texture

Then it is time to add your toppings! Make sure you place the rolled out base on to a baking tray before you add your toppings because (trust me from experience) it is really hard to move a pizza once it is heavy with toppings!

The dough will be fine to freeze at this final stage too, just keep it in a ball shape and place in an air tight freezer bag. It should be good for up to a month (If you can really wait that long!)

You will see in some of my other posts about pizza I have experimented with different dough techniques such as using half bread flour and half whole grain flour in this apple, spinach and asparagus pizza,  swapping oil for apple sauce in this Jamaican inspired Sunshine Pizza and even adding some spinach powder to enhance this Broccoli and Courgette pizza.

What is your favourite pizza topping?