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| Four cheese and sage pizza - Gruyère, Cheddar, Gorgonzola dolce latte, Mozzarella |
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| Four cheese and sage pizza fresh from the oven - salami (sopressa) and mozzarella pizza in the making |
Sunday night we had pizza. Sunday night we had pizza we made. We bought a 33cm pizza stone for the occasion. It was a successful first attempt; very, very satisfying to make as well as to eat. We used recipes from the Gourmet Traveller, with embellishments. :P
The pizza dough was surprisingly easy to make, 1 quantity of pizza dough yields four 33cm pizzas (we like the crust to be thin and crisp) which was plenty for 4.
The ingredients for each recipe were for 1 quantity of pizza dough, but we made half-quantity for each recipe, and pretty much overloaded the base with topping. :)
The oven was set at 230°C fan-forced. The pizza stone should be pre-heated so that the crust is crisp.
Pizza dough
(Adapted from the Gourmet Traveller)
Ingredients:
15g yeast
400g strong plain flour / '00' flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Method:
1. To activate the yeast, combine yeast with 100mL of lukewarm water in a small heat-proof bowl.
Stir to get an even mixture, then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Cover and stand in a warm place
for 30 minutes or until mixture is foamy.
2. Place remaining flour into a large bowl, create a well in the centre, add in yeast mixture, olive oil,
a pinch of sea salt, and 140mL of water. Mix until combined. Knead until dough is smooth and
elastic (about 5 minutes). Divide dough into four, and place onto an oiled oven tray.
Brush dough with olive oil, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (45 minutes - 1
hour).
For the four-cheese pizza, we used Gruyère (coarsely grated), Cheddar (coarsely grated), Gorgonzola dolce latte (crumbled), and Mozzarella (thinly sliced). Roll out on a lightly floured surface one portion of the pizza dough. Scatter the cheeses evenly onto the base, making sure to leave a little margin. Top with sage leaves. Bake on the pizza stone for 10 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil and serve immediately.
For the salami and mozzarella pizza, we used sopressa (roughly torn) and Mozzarella (thinly sliced). The sauce was made by frying up some chopped up garlic and onion, adding in passata and blended red peppers, season slightly with sea salt (not too much, as the salami can be quite salty), then simmer until it becomes thick (10-12 minutes), stir constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. Roll out on a lightly floured surface one portion of the pizza dough. Spread tomato mixture evenly onto the base, making sure to leave a little margin. Top with cherry tomato slices, sopressa, and mozzarella. Bake on the pizza stone for 6-8 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with garlic and oregano oil and serve immediately.
For garlic and oregano oil, cook oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until garlic is golden (3-4 minutes), add oregano, remove from heat, season to taste and set aside.
Pizza for Dinner
