Pizza is an easy throw together meal that can feed the masses or make a feast for one.  When considering what to cook for office favourites one of our customer interface engineers piped in with pizza and everyone in the blog team gave a resounding yes.

Kurt is usually contributing his expertise in user interface logic, industrial design concepts and of course his dry wit to the product development team, so it was awesome to get him in the kitchen showing off his culinary skills that are usually reserved for home.

It was a fun filled afternoon of humour and flour-covered pants as we rolled out pizzas to serve with quesadilla’s and the beer we had concocted with Kurt’s brother-in-law six weeks prior.  Definitely a rewarding end of the week for all of the engineers in the office, best turn out to Friday beers we’ve had in a long while.

We have given some ideas for toppings but go with whatever takes your fancy, it’s a great way to get all the foods you love crammed into the one meal.

Ingredients for base (makes three medium sized bases)

2 cups of plain or high grade flour
1 cup cold water
1 tsp of yeast
1 tsp of sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. If using a bread maker throw everything into it and follow instructions for the dough setting.
2. If making by hand use half of the water to develop the yeast by adding the yeast to ½ cup lukewarm water with the sugar. Let sit in a warm place for 10-15 min or until a distinct head develops on the surface. Once the yeast is developed add into remaining ingredients and mix to form a dough. Empty out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for ~20 minutes or until the surface is smooth and a small piece of it can be stretched out into a thin sheet without tearing. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth, place somewhere warm for 1-2 hours* or until you can stick you finger in it and an imprint remains.

Ingredients for tomato base sauce (makes enough for three bases)

1 can chopped or diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 tsp olive oil
2 dried bay leaves
¼ cup red cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
Cracked black pepper
Salt

Method

1. Sauté onion and garlic with a little vegetable oil, until translucent and aromatic.
2. Add in canned tomatoes bring to heat and then let simmer for 10 min before adding the olive oil, mixed herbs and bay leaves. Let simmer for a further 20min.
3. Add in sugar, red wine and seasoning. Let simmer for a further 10min. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.

For the margherita pizza

Sliced fresh mozzarella
Fresh whole basil leaves
Thinly sliced tomatoes (try acid free ones)
Cracked black pepper to season

For the mediterranean pizza

Thinly sliced red onion
Torn salami
Feta chunks
Fresh whole basil leaves
Kalamata olives
Cracked black pepper to season

Method

1. Pre-heat oven on fan bake to 210-230°C, if using a pizza stone place in oven at this stage so it is hot when you go to bake the pizzas.
2. Roll out base with prepared dough ~25cm in diameter and a thickness of no more than 1cm on a floured tray. If using a pizza stone flour a paddle with semolina and/or polenta.
3. Spread sauce over base and sparingly spread over ingredients, be careful not to overload the pizza as it will make the base soggy and take longer to cook.
4. Place into pre-heated oven and bake for 15-20min, or until golden brown and cheese is melted and delicious looking. Slice and serve.

* Some ovens have a defrost function this is ideal for proving bread in, just ensure that you cover the dough with a damp cloth. If your oven doesn’t have a defrost function then it might have a light function which will also work.

Tags: Basil, Feta, Mozzarella, Olives, Salami, Yeast

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