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Proper pizza in a domestic kitchen

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Prep time Cook time Difficulty Views Rated (0) Recipe #
1h 30m 5m 4-Domestic God(dess) 533
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Added by ben on 14 October 2008
Zen forked this on 4 May 2009 (2 descendants)

Description (Some HTML is OK)

Not so much a recipe this - it being more about the method, though the dough and the tomato sauce are worth a go.

I was trying to work out how to get the ridiculously high temperature of a pizza oven (450C+!!) at home and saw Heston Blumenthal doing something similar on the telly so thought I'd experiment.
It works, but maybe warn the fire brigade first.

...what I really want though is a brick oven.


Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • 1 overhead grill / oven with a door
  • 1 large flat solid cast iron griddle or frying pan (I've got a griddle about 30cm wide which is flat on one side and ridged on the other)
  • For the dough
  • ½ kilo of strong white bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 250ml water (a bit more if it's looking dry)
  • For the tomato sauce
  • A tin of whole plum tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 7 anchovy fillets
  • 1 dessert spoon of capers (rinsed if salted)
  • 1 heaped teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ a garlic clove crushed to a paste
  • Other toppings
  • Mozzarella
  • Fresh basil

Preparation (Some HTML is OK)

First make the dough by mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then knead until it's smooth and elastic (it should take 5-10 mins).
Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until it's doubled in size.

Knock it back by kneading again (you're basically just trying to get it down to it's original size here, so don't give it too much abuse), then divide it into 4 even balls.
Flatten each one out to about 25cm / 5mm thick with a copious dusting of semolina flour (or just more bread flour) and layer them up separated with tin foil, making sure there is enough flour between the pizza and the foil so it doesn't stick, but not so much as it will burn and create clouds of smoke as well as a nasty bitter taste.

To make the sauce, drain the juice off the tomatoes in a sieve, squishing them down a bit so they end up relatively dry. Add the tomatoes and the other ingredients and blend together. If you haven't got a machine to do this, just chop everything for a more rustic effect. Season with salt and pepper, though you probably won't need much of the former because of the anchovies and capers.

The next bit can get a bit hairy so I'd recommend getting everything together including some stout oven gloves or a load of tea towels, the windows open, the fan on (if you've got one) and your pizza components laid out like you live at Dominoes.

Put the grill on high with the shelf set about 5cm under it and close the door. Put the griddle or frying pan upside down on the highest heat and leave it there for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, take one of the pre-rolled pizza bases still on its silver foil and smear with a thin (you don't need much) layer of tomato sauce.
Rip up the mozzarella (as much or as little as you see fit, but you tend to need more than you think - 3/4 of a ball is probably enough) and arrange on top.
Scatter on some ripped up basil and drizzle the whole lot with olive oil

When you're sure the griddle is the temperature of the surface of the sun and the grill has heated the inside of the oven up to a similar degree, quickly: open the door of the oven; pick up the pizza still lying on its foil and place carefully on the griddle; put the griddle, foil and pizza into the oven; and close the door before any more heat escapes.
The pizza should take 2-3 minutes to cook, though plenty of checking to make sure nothing is actually on fire is obviously prudent.

When it's done, carefully lift the whole lot out, cut up and eat.

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Comments (2)

  • claire said on 16 Oct 2008:

    Great idea. But it looks REALLY scary!

  • ben (recipe author) said on 17 Oct 2008:

    It's not too bad just a bit smoky if there's any stray flour, but if you get a system going you can churn quite a few out as they cook so fast.



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