Pizza and Friends
Cooking Skills: Bread 2
Chapter 5 · Pizza and Friends
Skill goal
Make pizza dough, stretch it by hand and bake it hot so the base is crisp and the rim puffy.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Pizza is bread dough made to be stretched thin and baked as hot as your oven goes. Everything that matters follows from that: a dough that stretches without tearing, toppings that are light enough not to make the middle soggy, and a very hot tray to crisp the base.
Pizza dough
- Hydration about 65%: 325 ml water to 500 g flour is soft but handleable.
- Strong flour, or Italian 00 flour (finely milled) if you can get it.
- A long, cold rise in the fridge (24 to 48 hours) gives a more flavourful, blistered crust than a quick rise. Use half the yeast.
- Rest the balls for 20 minutes after dividing, because relaxed gluten stretches easily.
Stretching
- On a floured surface, press a dough ball flat from the centre with your fingertips, keeping a thick rim (the cornicione).
- Lift it and rotate it over the backs of your knuckles, letting gravity stretch it.
- If it springs back, rest it for 5 minutes and try again.
- Avoid a rolling pin, which squeezes the air out of the rim.
The heat
| Oven | Setting | Pizza time |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic oven, tray preheated 30 minutes | 250°C (230°C fan) or its highest | 8 to 10 minutes |
| Pizza stone or steel, preheated 45 minutes | 250°C (230°C fan) | 6 to 8 minutes |
| Thick tray pizza (not preheated tray) | 220°C (200°C fan) | 20 to 25 minutes |
Less is more: a thin layer of sauce, a modest amount of cheese and two or three toppings. A heavily loaded pizza stays wet and the base goes soggy.
Hot ovens and leftovers
Very hot oven and trays: pizza is baked at 230 to 250°C, so a preheated tray or stone is dangerously hot. Use thick, dry oven gloves, slide the pizza on with a peel, board or baking paper rather than reaching in, keep children away, and leave the tray on a heatproof surface to cool. Never use a tray that isn't oven-safe at that heat.Leftovers: cool cooked pizza within 1 to 2 hours, keep it covered in the fridge and eat it within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Pizza margherita
The classic: a thin tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. The skill is in the dough and the heat. Stretch with your hands, not a rolling pin, to keep the airy rim.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour (or Italian 00 flour), plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast (about 1 tsp)
- 10 g fine salt
- 325 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes (for the sauce)
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for the sauce
- 1 pinch salt and a few basil leaves
- 250 g pasteurised mozzarella, drained and torn
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt, water and oil to a dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Prove in an oiled bowl for about 1 hour until doubled (or chill for up to 24 hours: see the experiments).
- Make the sauce: simmer the tomatoes, garlic, oil and salt for 15 minutes, stirring, until thickened. Cool slightly and stir in some torn basil.
- Put a heavy baking tray (or tray turned upside down) on the top shelf and heat the oven to its highest setting, at least 230°C (210°C fan) and up to 250°C (230°C fan), for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 4 balls and rest, covered, for 20 minutes. On a floured surface, press out a ball from the centre with your fingertips, leaving a thicker rim, then lift and stretch it over your knuckles to about 25 cm.
- Place on a sheet of baking paper. Spread with 2 to 3 tbsp of sauce, add a quarter of the mozzarella and slide it, still on the paper, onto the hot tray.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the rim is puffed and charred in spots and the cheese is bubbling. Scatter with basil, cut and serve at once. Repeat with the rest.
Very hot oven and allergens
Very hot oven and trays: pizza is baked at 230 to 250°C, so a preheated tray or stone is dangerously hot. Use thick, dry oven gloves, slide the pizza on with a peel, board or baking paper rather than reaching in, keep children away, and leave the tray on a heatproof surface to cool. Never use a tray that isn't oven-safe at that heat.Cutting and eating: a pizza wheel or large knife is sharp, so cut on a board, not on the baking tray. Cheese and filling stay hotter than the crust, so let a calzone cool for 5 minutes and open it away from your face: the steam is scalding.
Allergens: wheat (gluten) and milk (mozzarella, cheese). Check toppings for fish (anchovies), egg, nuts (pesto) and sulphites, and label vegetarian pizzas if you share them.
Level 2 · Tray
A thick tray pizza
A thick, focaccia-like pizza baked in a tray: fluffy inside and crisp underneath, and easy to feed a crowd. Oil the tray generously.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 10 g fine salt
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 200 ml pizza or passata sauce
- 200 g pasteurised mozzarella or cheddar, grated
- 1 a few toppings: peppers, mushrooms, onion, sweetcorn, cooked ham
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt, water and 1 tbsp of oil to a sticky dough and knead for 5 minutes (it will be softer than a normal pizza dough). Prove for about 1 hour until doubled.
- Pour 2 tbsp of oil into a 30 x 40 cm tray. Tip the dough in and press it out to the edges (rest for 10 minutes if it springs back). Cover and prove for 30 to 45 minutes, until puffy.
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Spread with the sauce, scatter with the cheese and toppings (cook raw meats first) and drizzle with the rest of the oil.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the base is golden and crisp when you lift a corner and the cheese is bubbling. Cool for 5 minutes in the tray before cutting.
Hot tray, toppings and leftovers
Hot ovens, trays and steam: use dry oven gloves, pull the shelf out rather than reaching in, and put hot trays and tins on a heatproof surface. If you put a tray of boiling water in the oven for steam, pour it carefully with the oven door open a little and your face well back: the steam is far hotter than the water.Leftovers: cool cooked pizza within 1 to 2 hours, keep it covered in the fridge and eat it within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once.
Allergens: wheat (gluten) and milk (mozzarella, cheese). Check toppings for fish (anchovies), egg, nuts (pesto) and sulphites, and label vegetarian pizzas if you share them.
Level 2 · Folded
Spinach and ricotta calzone
A calzone is a folded pizza. The filling is hot inside, and the seal must hold. Squeeze the spinach dry, or the calzone goes soggy.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 250 g strong white bread flour (half the pizza dough quantity)
- ½ tsp fast-action dried yeast (about ½ tsp)
- 5 g fine salt
- 165 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 150 g ricotta
- 100 g fresh spinach, wilted and squeezed dry
- 100 g pasteurised mozzarella, torn
- 1 pinch nutmeg, salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil for brushing
- Make the dough as for the margherita, using the half quantities. Prove for about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 230°C (210°C fan) with a tray inside.
- Mix the ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, nutmeg and seasoning. Divide the dough in 2 and stretch each piece into a 25 cm round.
- Pile the filling on one half of each round, leaving a 2 cm edge. Brush the edge with water, fold the other half over, press to seal and fold the edge over itself, crimping with a fork. Brush with oil and cut a small steam hole in the top.
- Slide onto the hot tray on baking paper and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden and puffed. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Steam, hot filling and allergens
Cutting and eating: a pizza wheel or large knife is sharp, so cut on a board, not on the baking tray. Cheese and filling stay hotter than the crust, so let a calzone cool for 5 minutes and open it away from your face: the steam is scalding.Very hot oven and trays: pizza is baked at 230 to 250°C, so a preheated tray or stone is dangerously hot. Use thick, dry oven gloves, slide the pizza on with a peel, board or baking paper rather than reaching in, keep children away, and leave the tray on a heatproof surface to cool. Never use a tray that isn't oven-safe at that heat.
Allergens: wheat (gluten) and milk (mozzarella, cheese). Check toppings for fish (anchovies), egg, nuts (pesto) and sulphites, and label vegetarian pizzas if you share them.
Level 3 · Flatbread
Garlic and herb flatbread
The pizza dough makes a lovely flatbread with garlic butter: fast, and good with soup or as a party snack.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 250 g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast (about 1 tsp)
- 5 g fine salt
- 160 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 40 g butter, softened
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 pinch flaky salt
- Mix the flour, yeast, salt, water and oil and knead for 8 minutes. Prove for about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 230°C (210°C fan) with a tray inside.
- Divide into 2 and stretch or roll each to about 5 mm thick. Mix the butter, garlic, parsley and salt.
- Slide onto the hot tray on baking paper and bake for 5 minutes. Spread with the garlic butter and bake for 3 to 5 minutes more, until golden and bubbling.
- Cut into pieces and serve warm.
Hot tray
Very hot oven and trays: pizza is baked at 230 to 250°C, so a preheated tray or stone is dangerously hot. Use thick, dry oven gloves, slide the pizza on with a peel, board or baking paper rather than reaching in, keep children away, and leave the tray on a heatproof surface to cool. Never use a tray that isn't oven-safe at that heat.Allergens: bread contains wheat (gluten). Check the recipe for milk, butter, egg, sesame and other seeds, and nuts, and label them if you share the bread. Gluten-free bread uses different flours and methods and isn't covered in this course. Contains milk (butter).
Experiments
Experiment
Resting the dough
Rest or stretch straight away.
- Divide the dough. Stretch one ball immediately and let another rest for 20 minutes before stretching.
Look for: The unrested ball springs back and tears; the rested ball stretches easily and keeps a thin, even centre.
Experiment
Stretching or rolling
Hands against the pin.
- Shape one pizza by stretching with your hands and one with a rolling pin. Bake together.
Look for: The stretched pizza has a puffy, airy rim. The rolled one is flat and evenly thick, with a crackery edge.
Experiment
Oven heat and tray
Preheated or cold tray.
- Bake one pizza on a tray preheated for 30 minutes and another on a cold tray at the same temperature.
Look for: The hot-tray pizza has a crisp, browned base. The cold-tray pizza has a pale, soft base.
Experiment
Light or heavy toppings
How much is too much.
- Make one pizza with a thin layer of sauce and cheese and one loaded with sauce, cheese and toppings.
Look for: The light pizza bakes crisp and even; the loaded one has a wet, doughy centre and takes longer.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margherita | ||||
| Tray pizza | ||||
| Calzone | ||||
| Garlic flatbread | ||||
| Resting | ||||
| Stretching or rolling | ||||
| Tray heat | ||||
| Toppings |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dough springs back | Gluten tight | Rest 5 to 10 minutes; let it relax |
| Soggy middle | Too much sauce or toppings, oven too cool | Use less; preheat the tray; pre-cook wet toppings |
| Pale base | Cold tray or low oven | Preheat the tray for 30 minutes; use the top shelf |
| Tears when stretching | Too thin in places or over-stretched | Keep a thicker rim; patch holes and rest |
| Pizza sticks to the peel | Not enough flour or semolina | Slide on baking paper |
| Calzone bursts | No steam hole, or not sealed | Crimp the edge; cut a hole in the top |
Heat, steam and allergens
Raw flour: flour is a raw ingredient and can carry bacteria such as E. coli, which are killed only by baking or cooking. Don't taste raw dough, don't let children eat or play with it, and wash your hands, bowls and surfaces after handling flour and dough.Very hot oven and trays: pizza is baked at 230 to 250°C, so a preheated tray or stone is dangerously hot. Use thick, dry oven gloves, slide the pizza on with a peel, board or baking paper rather than reaching in, keep children away, and leave the tray on a heatproof surface to cool. Never use a tray that isn't oven-safe at that heat.
Cutting and eating: a pizza wheel or large knife is sharp, so cut on a board, not on the baking tray. Cheese and filling stay hotter than the crust, so let a calzone cool for 5 minutes and open it away from your face: the steam is scalding.
Allergens: wheat (gluten) and milk (mozzarella, cheese). Check toppings for fish (anchovies), egg, nuts (pesto) and sulphites, and label vegetarian pizzas if you share them.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make and rest pizza dough.
- I can stretch a base by hand.
- I can bake on a preheated tray at full heat.
- I use light toppings.
- I fold and seal a calzone.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Bread 2, chapter 6 is Folded and Laminated Breads: swirls, pull-apart loaves and simplified croissants.