That’s amore!
Ahh, good ol’ Dean Martin certainly knew what he was talking about - a moon-sized pizza pie is definetely a decent way to express your love, especially if the base is crisp, cooked to perfection and topped with your favourite ingredients!
The last time I made pizza dough, it was the first time that I’d ever used yeast or made home-made pizza, and needless to say that seeing that dough expand to become as big as my head (and that is pretty darn big - no joke! One day I’ll share my primary school big-head-no-hat shameful story with you…) was one of the proudest moments of my life, and punching down that dough after it was done rising was certainly one of the most therapeutic.
However, the pizza was not very well received by the family as they preferred thinner, crisper bases and I really had no idea what I was doing when it came to rolling out the dough and putting the toppings on. Nonetheless, the pizza was devoured, and I made a mental note of all the things that my family said they didn’t like about the base to be aware of the next time round.
And then I had this incident with my next yeast adventure (gee, sounds a little wrong huh?) and became so terrified of yeast that I put off my second pizza-making attempt again and again and again. Until last night.
Last night my awesome galpal Vee came over so that we could cook dinner, and what a spread we put on! Soy-braised pork ribs inspired by those made by Jules from Stone Soup, mini pizzas and an apple and pear crumble also inspired by the ones made by Jules. I know I know, it was a very ‘Stone Soup’ inspired evening 
Unfortunately I was too busy keeping multiple dishes moving to serve to my starving family to take pictures, but all dishes were winners so I will definetely remake them
I remade this pizza for lunch today and it was an absolute hit (again!) and suited my family’s tastebuds to a tee!
I only used half the dough I made yesterday so I decided to use up the rest today and make some more pizzas for lunch. Not having a pizza stone (yet!), I needed another way to get a nicely crisped base, so I decided to parbake it and then add the topping. P-E-R-F-E-C-T! So much so that my pizza-avoiding brother absolutely devoured the ones I made both yesterday and today and said they’re the best pizzas he’s ever had Two of the major problems I have with bought pizzas is the extremely oily crusts and doughy bases that don’t appear to have been cooked properly (you know what I mean, you look under the topping and the dough looks and feels completely uncooked!), and these crusts didn’t suffer any of these problems!
Here’s the ingredients again for those who are interested
Simple Pizza Dough
450g all-purpose flour
1 (7g) sachet active dry yeast
Pinch of salt
1 and 1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp olive oil
1. Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl, then create a well in the middle, pour in the water and oil and mix with a wooden spoon till well combined, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead till almost smooth.
2. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with cling-wrap and place in a warm area for an hour, or till dough has doubled in size.
3. Remove the dough onto a floured surface and PUMMEL IT! That’s right, beat that dough into place, show it who’s boss, beat it till it can’t be beat no more
4. Place the dough onto a lightly oiled pizza pan/stone/tray, pushing it out to the edges gently, trying to get the thickness as even as possible.
This crust is light as air, crispy, chewy and has a mild yeasty tang that gives it quite a nice flavour.
Tips/Pointers from my experience
- Parbake the crust to make sure that it’s nicely cooked and crisp - if you’re a fan of a nice, medium thickness crust like me then roll it about 5mm thick, prick it all over with a fork then bake it in an oven preheated to 200 degrees C for 10-15 minutes, till it is crisped on top and feels light in your hand.
- If your house is as cold as mine, then place the proofing bowl on a central heating duct or next to a wall heater, making sure to place a towel under the bowl to help it retain the heat.
- To get your ingredients to stay on the crust, sprinkle cheese under the ingredients and then just add a light cheese layer on top of them. By placing the cheese under the rest of the toppings, it prevents the cheese from cooking/melting too quickly and provides a gooey layer that holds the toppings in place.
- If you’re making entree-sized pizzas like I did (roughly the size of a saucer) and have lots of leftover dough, you can parbake them, wrap them tightly in cling wrap and freeze them to use at another time. They make for an easy meal, and are much tastier an your store-bought crusts.
- Use your favourite ingredients to make for a deliciously indulgent meal. I placed onions, mushrooms, tinned pineapple, capsicum and very thinly sliced chorizo sausages on mine. I pan-fried the sausage slices then made sure to blot each one with a kitchen towel to rid them of oil.
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Comments
Lisa Looks fabulous, sweetie! I’m wondering though.. what are those toppings, eh? We’re big pizza eaters here too - but only the pizza my aunt taught me how to make. We won’t get delivery or frozen. I love the kneading of the dough - I find it very relaxing. I’m glad you found a good recipe to use and I can’t wait to see what other creations you’ll make with it. 
Mary Even though I bake a lot, I’m still a yeast virgin! So it’s comforting to hear about your experiences with yeast. Your pizza looks great!
Ellie Kat - it’s an unbelievably easy pizza base to make, and I’ve made up another batch and parbaked them so that my sister and brother can make their own healthy lunches with them (well, healthier than the instant noodles which have been making quite an appearance recently!)
Lis - Thanks hon And kneading the dough is absolutely marvellous, it’s very easy to zone out and just lose yourself in the motion! Next up, I’ll use this dough to try making calzones
Mary - Yay, another yeast virgin! And here I was thinking I was the only one Glad you liked the pizza
Paz - thanks hon!
Jules - the ribs were an amazing hit, so much so that I’ve actually got some more marinating in the fridge for dinner sometime this week Thanks for providing the inspiration!
gilly Great tips! I’m glad that your pizzas turned out so well!
I too love pineapple on pizza… mmmm… THAT’s amore!
Ellie Gilly - thanks hon! And I think that pineapple on pizza is an institution - amore indeed
Emily Ellie -
It sounds like an excellent meal and night - I love all the tips you posted, especially the parbaking idea. Brilliant!
Ellie Emily - it was definetely a good night filled with good food, wine and company Glad you liked the tips, I hope they come in handy for any other pizza-making newbies out there
ilingc hey ellie,
you make this look so easy. 
i’ve been wanting to make pizza since i bought my pizza pan 2 years ago. it’s been used for everything else but pizza! i love your toppings, they’d be what i put on my pizza too.
Ellie Iling - this particular base is very very easy, it’ll make you feel like quite the domestic goddess, especially when you get into the rhythm of kneading
oh my gosh! I am definitely printing this one out and trying it REAL soon! Looks awesome!