Post a Comment On: Apple & Spice

[Image]This is something I threw together for dinner when I got in from work, tired, hungry and with limited supplies in the fridge. It only takes between 30-40 minutes from dry ingredients to munching, quicker than ordering a takeaway. It involves using a pizza dough base that can be rolled out straight away without having to be left to prove, speeding up the process no end.

What I love about pizza is that they hold the same kind of concept as a sandwich, meaning there are almost unlimited variations on what you can use for toppings. For my pizza I used what I had to hand which involved, sun dried tomatoes, half an onion, sweetcorn, chili, a couple of fresh tomatoes from my garden and some lovely Smoked Applewood cheese. I also added lots of oregano to the pizza base itself as I have found this to be a great way of adding flavour to a pizza without worrying that the herbs will burn to a crisp on the surface.

I keep fresh yeast frozen in little pieces in my freezer, ready to use when the urge takes me but instant yeast would work just as well. I find that heating a baking tray in the oven while I make the dough and then transferring it straight to the hot tray helps to make a nice crispy base and prevents it from sticking to the tray.

I threw the pizza together, had a quick shower while it was in the oven and then settled down to munch it in my pajamas in front of the TV. Ahh bliss.

No Prove Pizza
For the dough
15g yeast
½ tsp caster sugar
125g strong plain flour
1 tbsp olive oil50ml warm water
30ml milk
1 tsp dried oregano

For the toppings
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 sun dried tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes
½ small tin sweetcorn
½ onion
½ red chili
Cheese of choice (I used Smoked Applewood)
2 tbsp polenta or cornmeal for base

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C and place a baking tray into the oven to heat up.
Put the milk, warm water, sugar and yeast into a bowl and mix until combined.
Weight out the flour and add the rest of the dough ingredients and mix together until a firm dough has formed (add more liquid if necessary).
Dust a work surface with flour and kneed the dough for a couple of minutes until smooth.
Roll out the dough until only 3-4mm thick. Then lift up the dough using a rolling pin and scatter the work surface with a generous layer of polenta.
Place the dough over the polenta and gently press down and move the dough around so the polenta sticks to the dough base and moves around freely.
Spread the tomato paste over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge.
Scatter over the rest of your chosen toppings and then cover in a layer of grated cheese.
Remove the tray from the oven and side the pizza onto it. Return quickly to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Eat and enjoy.