Recipe by Nathan Dsouza
Ingredients:
Steps:
7 cups / 1 kg maida
1.5 tbsp / 15 gms yeast
4 tbsp / 60 gm olive oil
1 tbsp / 20 gms sugar
2 tbsp/25 gms salt
2.5 cups / 600 ml water
Preparing the dough
- Mix yeast, water and sugar together and set aside.
- Sieve flour and salt and make a well in the center.
- Add the yeast mixture and knead to a soft dough, adding more water if required.
- Incorporate the oil and rest for 30 minutes till doubled.
- Shape into 180-200 gm rounds depending on the size required (180-200 gm will make a 8-9" pizza approx). If you prefer a thin crust, 150-180 gm is ideal.
- Place on a well greased or floured tray and cover and let proof for another 15-20 minutes.
- If you are making one pizza at a time, keep one dough ball outside and the rest in the fridge, covered airtight or with plastic to prevent drying. And take out as required to make the pizzas, this will prevent the dough from over fermenting.
For shaping
- Before rolling, coat the dough with a mixture of 75% flour and 25% fine semolina as it will provide a crunchy crust.
- Spread with homemade or store-bought tomato sauce and top with your favorite toppings.
For baking: - Invert a baking tray and let it heat up with your oven for at least 15 minutes at 250C or as hot as your oven goes to.
- Once your base is stretched out, lay it on a sheet of parchment paper and then top the pizza, this makes it easy to put and take out of the oven.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating slightly if required until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and gooey.
- ENJOY!
- When shaping the pizza, try not to press the edge too much, this creates a nice crust, but if you prefer a thin crust, roll out the crust as well.
- Do not spread the sauce all the way to the edge, leave a 1/2 inch edge all the way around.
- The hotter your oven goes, the quicker your pizza bakes.