Pizza Fatta in Casa

This is probably the most popular food in the world. Traditionally cooked in a wood fired oven at around 400 degrees and cooked for 90 seconds, pizza is an explosion of happiness! Here is a perfect, simple recipe for a homemade pizza

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Makes 10 pizzas

Ingredients

• 1L of water
• 1.7kg of strong white flour  plus extra for dusting
• 6g of fresh yeast or 5g of dry yeast or 510g if using a sourdough starter
• 50g salt
• 50ml olive oil

Dough Method

1. To start pre-measured all of the ingredients. 
2. In a very large bowl add the water and the yeast. If using fresh yeast or sourdough starter use room temperature water, if using dry yeast use lukewarm water to activate the yeast.
3. Add about half of the flour to the water and yeast and mix well with a wooden spoon until there is no more dry flour. Pour the rest of the flour and the olive oil in. Keep mixing with a wooden spoon for few minutes, trying to incorporate as much flour as possibile into the dough. Now add the salt and with one hand hold the bowl and the other one knead for 3 minutes, until there are no more bits of dry flour.  Don't worry if the dough is sticking to your hand - this is part of the process. Sticky dough means good hydration of the dough so do not add any flour yet.
4. With a dough scraper transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and start kneading the dough with the palms of your hands - be energetic and a little fast with your kneading movement. The slower your kneading movement, the stickier your dough will be. Help yourself with the scraper to bring back the dough together while kneading it and to take off the sticky dough from your hands! Knead for another 10-12 minutes no stop.
5. Once the dough it's nicely kneaded and elastic, with the help of the scraper make a big ball shape and transfer the dough back to the bowl. Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel. Let it rest for 2 hours.
6. Move the dough back to the table and separate your dough into 10 equal pieces. Ensure these portions are the correct size by weighing them on scales. Weight the whole ball first and then divide by 10. Each dough should weight between 250g and 270g. To shape each ball use a flat surface, roll each dough over on itself a few times, rotating each time to keep it round. Finish it by shaping  each dough carefully into a ball and sealing the bottom tightly.
7. If using the pizza dough on the same day, dust with flour the work surface and place the dough balls on top with the smooth side facing up, keeping each ball separated by a few centimetre. Brush each dough ball with olive oil to avoid sticking and cover them all with cling film. Let them proof for 6/8 hours or until almost double in size. The proving of your pizza balls depends as well on the room temperature of your kitchen. If it is too warm they will prove faster, if it is too cold they could take longer, so make sure you keep an eye on them.
8. For a slow rise, transfer the dough balls into a previously floured pizza box, with the smooth side facing up and keeping the dough balls separated by a few centimetres and cover. If you don't have a pizza box use anything such as large trays or food plastic containers. Place the dough in the fridge from a minimum of 12 hours to a maximum of 2 days. This will improve the flavour and aroma of your pizza dough, it also promotes the proving and makes the pizza more digestible. When you are ready to bake, take the pizza balls out of the fridge at least 1 hour before using them. 

 
Stretching method

1. Dust your table with a touch of flour then carefully place one of the proved dough balls on your table and add another touch of flour on top of the dough.
2. Start  stretching your pizza from the middle of the dough ball with the top of your fingers, pushing out the natural air inside the pizza. Next, flip the dough and do exactly the same over and over again, flipping the dough constantly. Click here if you would like to see a video guide for the stretching process.
3. If you like your pizza "Alla Napoletana" (with the crust)  then you will have to keep going with this process, pushing the natural air inside the dough out creating a barrier all around and trying to never touch it (when you are doing this, put in your mind that the crust in the oven it will double in size so the crust you are going to create it will be no larger than a 1 cm).
4. If you like your pizza "Alla Romana" (without the crust and with a thin base) then it will be much easier; all you need is a rolling pin. Place the rolling pin on top of your dough (which you will already have pre-stretched a bit by hand) and roll with the rolling pin, constantly flipping the dough making sure the base of the pizza is all even and not too thin.
5. Create a round pizza of around 30/35 cm diameter. 

Cooking in a house oven

1. Preheat your oven 1 hour before cooking on the maximum heat on fan mode. Place your stretch pizza in a clean baking tray with baking paper. 
2. If you are doing a pizza rossa, with tomato sauce, add around 3 tablespoon of the tomato sauce to the middle of the pizza (if you add more, your pizza will be soggy), add basil, fresh mozzarella and a touch of extra virgin olive oil all around.
3. Place your pizza in the oven for 7 to max 10 mins depending how crispy you like it. 
4. Once the pizza is cooked, serve on a wooden board or on a large plate, let it cool down for 1 minute and top your pizza with whichever toppings you prefer (keep it simple!), and there you have it!  The perfect homemade pizza. ​ Enjoy!

Cooking in a wood fired oven

1. The oven should be around 360-400°C with a live flame. After slipping your topped pizza onto a lightly floured pizza peel, place your pizza on the oven floor, right next to the fire. The crust will begin to puff up and cook immediately; after about 40 seconds, slip the peel under the pizza and rotate it 180 degrees to ensure that it cooks evenly. Don't shift it to another part of the oven when you rotate it or the bottom of the pizza it will burn.  
2. The pizza should be done in 60 to 90 seconds. It will be done when the crust is nicely browned, the cheese is melted, and the other ingredients of the topping are bubbling.
3. You can top your pizza with whichever toppings you prefer (keep it simple!), and there you have it!  The perfect homemade pizza. ​Enjoy!

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