The Homemade Pizza Thread

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So there's lots of fancy kit and ingredients being used in this thread, but here's something for people starting out. The missus likes her Tesco, who are pretty useless for all things pizza, so this is what I've managed using a "short and shoddy" approach with (almost) all Tesco ingredients :
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As an example of Tesco's uselessness, they don't have OO flour, the nearest they have is the Matthews Super Fine which is 10% protein or the Homepride Extra Fine which is only 9.4%. Which is probably usable but I imagine only if you treat it "properly" with >24h rests etc. So I stock up with a couple of bags of OO flour from Sainsburys when I pass them - their TtD OO flour is 13.2% protein - or Waitrose or the farm shop, they're all cheaper than Tesco for baking stuff as Tesco considers it a "luxury".

So my base (for two) is just 300g flour, 200g water, maybe 2/3 tsp salt and two shakes of Allinson Easy Bake yeast (maybe 7g?), a bit more yeast if I'm short on time. Yes, it's better if you leave it longer, but as long as it's in the bread machine at least 3 hours before I need it, then I get a reasonable pizza. I suspect that you may not get away with that with the Matthews flour from Tesco due to its low protein content. You can leave it overnight in the fridge - and it can double in size there, just as a warning - and you'll get a better dough that handles better, but I'm seldom that organised. The one above was made from Sainsbury's flour and had just under 3 hours from flour to oven.

Hardware-wise, I'm just using a pretty bog-standard oven which probably doesn't even get up to 240°C these days, I just let it preheat on maximum whilst I'm making the pizza. My one "gadget" is a £1.29 32cm (12.6") silicone pizzamesh from Dunelm (who have quite a bit of pizza kit) which seems to work pretty well, cleans easily, and has the incidental benefit that unlike metal/stone ones you can cut it to fit two pizzas on one shelf of the oven. (as seen in photo above)

If I remember, I rinse some of the toppings (see below) and leave them to drain in a sieve before starting with the dough.

I dust my hands with regular plain flour (I'm cheap) before handling dough, which starts with dividing the 500g of dough into two - I find 250g doesn't quite cover the mesh, the pizza is about 11-12" diameter, maybe 10" if I've rushed the rise and I screw up the pulling. I know it's heresy among the purists, but it's OK to roll it with a rolling pin (or 500ml beer bottle), you still get pizza. Flat pizza that's had the gas knocked out of it, but you still get pizza. I've tried some of the online methods for turning dough into something pizza-shaped and not really got on with any of them, my method is to start with a ball and start pulling the centre out towards the edge, rotate and repeat. Once you get something that's about 6" diameter, I get gravity to help - hold it vertically by the crimp in two hands and bounce it a bit like a yoyo, rotate a bit and repeat.

Then the absolutely critical bit for those without fancy ovens - prebake the base for 4-5 minutes whilst prepping the toppings. Not only does this ensure it ends up cooked, it allows you to unstick it from the mesh before adding the toppings which makes life much easier later.

Toppings (for one) :
Half a 250g Galbani Mozzarella Maxi
Half a 95g jar John West anchovies (the Tesco Cantabrian are much milder which I don't like)
25g? Tesco capers
30g? Tesco sliced black olives
1-2 pieces Tesco sun-dried tomatoes
Half a Dolmio Stir In Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce 150G

I rinse the olives and capers and leave them to drain in a sieve if I haven't done that before starting with the dough.

I know one ought to cook one's own tomato sauce and Tesco's premade options really aren't that great but I'm lazy. The Mutti sauce is probably the best pizza-specific option in Tesco but is seldom in stock and the tin is a bit too big for two. I like the sun-driedness that the Dolmio pasta sauce brings, although half a pot is a bit meagre and a full pot is a bit too oily, so I tend to end up stretching half a pot with a bit of whatever tomato-y stuff we have kicking round the fridge - passata etc. I smear it over the pre-cooked base with a spoon.

I pat dry the mozzarella with a kitchen towel and slice once lengthways and then about 6 times along it, then lay the 12 pieces out. Pat the anchovies dry, halve them and put a piece on each bit of cheese - I really like that combination of salty anchovy and mozzarella. There should be a few bits left over, either scatter on the pizza or eat them... Although the John West ones are the least bad option in Tesco, my favourites are the Sainsburys garlic/herb anchovies which are nicer, cheaper, and good for all sorts of other things, I stock up whenever I pass Sainsburys.

In similar fashion, pat dry the sun-dried tomato and chop it roughly into <1cm pieces. Scatter, along with the drained capers and olives. You can can chop your own olives, a full olive is a bit much but about 1/3 of an olive is the right size. So the pre-sliced ones are a bit small but I'm lazy.

Total ingredient costs work out at about £3.70 per person, although the generous helping of anchovies accounts for almost a third of that, and the mozzarella almost as much. You could make it cheaper by replacing the anchovies with eg pepperoni. Sticking with the Tesco theme, they do pepperoni in smaller (3.3g, 36 to a pack) and bigger sizes (5g, 26 to a pack) - according to our orders we did get the 36-pack once but not again. I quite like pepperoni on pizzas but have absolutely no memory of what the Tesco one was like!
 
I made dough today for some pizzas midweek, Tuesday probably assuming it stays dry

For 8 230g balls
1110g 00 flour
690g water
33g salt
22g goose fat (your oil or lard of choice)
1g instant yeast

Will portion it five hours or so before cooking
 
After @Northern_Brewer s explaination on traceability of ingredients, I am going to declare that most of my stuff came from lidl. (Other discount stores are available)
Even our bread maker is a middle of Lidl silver crest special.
Oven was a standard electric fan oven set to 220c
Special equipment was a metal pizza tray, you know, a round tray with a few large round holes in it that make it a pain to oil without it dripping through 😄
 
Has anyone tried using a breadmaker to mix & kneed their dough?

Ours has a pizza dough setting, but wasn't sure if folks generally avoid or not 🤷‍♂️
 
I have some OO flour from Shipton Mill and was thinking of trying the pizza program on our breadmaker. After the program is finished do you use the dough straight away or leave it for some time ?
 
I have some OO flour from Shipton Mill and was thinking of trying the pizza program on our breadmaker. After the program is finished do you use the dough straight away or leave it for some time ?
It depends on the dough recipe. More often than not it does need to be left to rise and that could be more than once.
 
I don't have a bread machine so which is easier to clean: a stand mixer or a bread machine?
With the stand mixer and dough hook, you're looking right at your product and can monitor closely.
That being said, it sounds like a perfect scenario for a side by side comparison.
I used was skeptical about using a food processor to make pie dough but that worked well.
 
I have some OO flour from Shipton Mill and was thinking of trying the pizza program on our breadmaker. After the program is finished do you use the dough straight away or leave it for some time ?
I always used to use the dough straight away (Panasonic breadmaker. SD-2501, menu 22 "pizza" 45mins). Now use the dough recipe in "Pizza Bible" but still use the breadmaker (menu 22) but dough gets portioned and pushed in the fridge for a couple of days (sealed in boxes).

I've no complaints. The dough is difficult to handle. Spin the dough above your head in your hand, then spend some time getting it out of your hair, then remember not to do that again.

I use 00 from Shipton Mill too. When the pandemic started it was all I could get ... but only in 25kg sacks. Working through the second sack at moment (makes good white bread too, menu 8, "French" 6hr cycle).
 
I don't have a bread machine so which is easier to clean: a stand mixer or a bread machine?

Not much in it I'd have thought - marginally easier with bread machine?

I guess it's more a question of how much use you can get out of it otherwise. Bread machine bread is a bit of an acquired habit - I never really got into it when I first was given one years ago, but started using it for most of my bread during lockdown.

For pizza - I use the 45 minute "pizza" programme which does the main kneading, then as per above, I give it another 2 hours minimum to rise, but it does prefer being left in the fridge overnight.
 
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Most dough balls will need 3 hours minimum to be nicely workable. I like 8 hours, can do up to 24 hours though they will have spread out quite a bit unless you have a low hydration dough. That's at room temperature, if at fridge temp you can go a lot longer

Classic roman thin pizza is 3 hours in bulk and 3 hours in ball I think, that's about as quick as you want to go imo.
 
Not much in it I'd have thought - marginally easier with bread machine?

I guess it's more a question of how much use you can get out of it otherwise. Bread machine bread is a bit of an acquired habit - I never really got into it when I first was given one years ago, but started using it for most of my bread during lockdown.

For pizza - I use the 45 minute "pizza" programme which does the main kneading, then as per above, I give it another 2 hours minimum to rise, but it does prefer being left in the fridge overnight.
I do the same, but wrap dough in film and leave in fridge overnight. In fact I use the machine for bread dough, so tip it out and put in a tin. Pop it into top oven and crank up the main oven and when its risen cook in the main oven. If you have the Panasonic machine you can half the pizza amounts to make just one and likewise with rolls, so you get 4 instead of 8. I haven't bought bread for years
 
Even with a non-gimmick appliance, I have to weigh whether I'd use it in lieu of something I've already got. Those air fryers look nifty; however, I have no problem actually deep-frying since it's an occasional method.
But, to the relevant point: my wife is very particular about what goes in the bread we buy (and everything else). If I could make above average bread with a bread machine, I am inclined to get one.
 
Even with a non-gimmick appliance, I have to weigh whether I'd use it in lieu of something I've already got. Those air fryers look nifty; however, I have no problem actually deep-frying since it's an occasional method.
But, to the relevant point: my wife is very particular about what goes in the bread we buy (and everything else). If I could make above average bread with a bread machine, I am inclined to get one.
Got mine on ebay David. It was a bit beat up but works fine and Ive been hammering it for years. I have an ebay business and this is the best thing Ive bought for sure. Use my Panasonic 2 to 3 times a week. Right, can I interest you in ........ Ooooops.
 
I'm interested in this....I have a bread machine lurking in the dark recesses of my kitchen. Wonder if it's usable for pizza dough?
Something to do on the days off...
 
We have 2 breadmakers :?:. An Aldi which is a single paddle which is used for Wright's breadmixes - their Mixed Grain mix is brillant. The other is a Lidl twin paddle which we use for our own mix bread. This has a Pizza program hence the earlier question. We already make our own pizza "dough" so another way of saving on the cooking work load will be great. @DD - these breadmakers and a slow cooker are the best items we have purchased for the kitchen - they take up counter space but having delay timers means we have food ready at a time we want with very little effort. G
 

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