The timing of this substack is a little ridiculous on two fronts: firstly, because I’m about to go to Italy, where even a Coop supermarket takeaway slice of pizza will far surpass my home-baked efforts, secondly, because I have bitten the bullet and finally ordered an Ooni Gas Powered Pizza Oven for Oscar’s birthday, which I’m hoping is about to seriously escalate our homemade pizza game. So writing a post expounding my latest pizza DIY ingenuity feels a little fruitless. Nevertheless, the sun came out in London, I had a ripe sourdough starter at hand and a hankering for an al fresco Diavola, and an impromptu pizza night was born
Pizza has always held a special place in my heart. From the aforementioned Coop takeaway in Umbria that defined many an easy childhood lunch (the pizza bianca with potato and rosemary reigned supreme), to the enormous stone pizza oven that Oscar had constructed on his poor mother’s flowerbed during lockdown, it has been a deliciously present part of my life for as long as I can remember. A bit of a crazy revelation to me this week was that I’d never attempted homemade pizza in a conventional oven. Maybe it was for fear of a soggy bottom, or of dense, cardboardy crusts, or perhaps just a silly loyalty to ‘authenticity’, but it had genuinely never crossed my mind to try this out without a wood-fired pizza oven at hand. Much to my surprise (and joy), the pizzas actually turned out remarkably well, and were a whole lot less time-consuming to make than the old painstakingly-tended-to-for-four-hours-wood-fired-job.
Rather than give you a recipe, as usual, I’m instead going to share a few tips and tricks on home cooking pizza, as I can only credit Franco Manca for their sourdough pizza recipe. The toppings were just the fun bit. So here are my revelations:
I have too many sad tales of pizza bases, beautifully whetted with juicy tomato and creamy mozzarella, stubbornly clinging to the last surface they touched. This time I was not settling for an accidental calzone, and I was intent on a crispy base. So I presented my dough with a two step solution: 1) assembling the pizza on a well-floured piece of cardboard (yes, cardboard) 2) getting the oven as hot as was ovenly possible and heating up a spare kiln shelf inside (my DIY answer to a pizza stone).
The reasons behind the cardboard technique were threefold. Firstly, it is a lovely light, portable vessel to move your pizza base around on, and, when properly dusted with flour, presents a perfectly slippery surface, so there’s no chance of any doughy adhesive disasters. Secondly, it is a great answer to a pizza paddle. Open the oven, give the cardboard a little shimmy, and the pizza slips right onto your awaiting hot pizza stone inside. Thirdly, no washing up.
The reasons behind the kiln shelf (a moment of genius) were slightly less well organised. I didn’t have a pizza stone, but I do have a kiln, and I figured it would work just the same (it did). If you like a properly cooked pizza base, don’t have the space for an Ooni or equivalent pizza oven, and are invested in the pizza game, I would highly recommend buying either a pizza stone or kiln shelf. Put it on the top rack of your oven, whack the temperature up on full, allow to heat for 30 minutes and you’re all set: the perfect pizza awaits.
(I realise I should’ve taken documentary evidence of this insane process but alas I did not, so you’ll have to picture it as vividly as possible in your mind’s eye.)
Also I lied, I can’t resist a recipe.
DIY Pizza Party
- Burrata, Grilled Peach and Basil Pesto
- Aubergine, Whipped Ricotta, Hot Honey
- Chorizo Picante, Tomato, Red Pepper
Makes 3 pizzas
for the dough
250ml lukewarm water
40g ripe sourdough starter
1 tsp dry yeast
15ml olive oil
420g flour
10g fine sea salt
To make the dough, follow Franco Manca’s recipe. I just added a bit more flour as my dough was very sticky and some extra yeast (because I’m always scared of unrisen dough). My amended ingredients are listed above.
for the burrata pesto pizza
1/3 of the pizza dough
flour, for dusting
1 yellow peach, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
a large handful of basil, plus extra, to finish
80ml olive oil
2 tbsp pine nuts
30g parmigiano reggiano
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt, to taste
2/3 ball of mozzarella, hand shredded
1 burrata
Whilst the pizza dough is busy rising, you can prepare all the various toppings. Heat a frying pan on high heat for a minute, then add a tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the peach slices in a single layer for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. Set aside to cool.
In a food processor, combine the basil, remaining olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan, lemon juice and salt until relatively smooth (I like mine with a few bits). Add more oil if desired.
When the pizza dough is ready, shape according to instructions, place on a well-floured cardboard sheet and layer with the mozzarella, followed by the fried peach.
Place a pizza stone/kiln shelf in the oven and preheat it to 250 degrees celsius. Slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted and the pizza has cooked through. You should have a lovely, crispy base.
Tear the burrata on top and finish with a generous drizzle of basil pesto and extra basil to garnish.
for the aubergine ricotta pizza
1/3 of the pizza dough
flour, for dusting
1 aubergine, cut into 2cm cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, to taste
250g ricotta
1/2 tsp Tajin seasoning (or other, equivalent spice)
4 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp urfa chilli flakes
1 tsp chilli oil
3 tbsp tomato passata
2/3 ball of mozzarella, hand shredded
basil, to garnish
Toss the aubergine in the olive oil and salt and arrange in one layer in a baking tray. Roast for 30-35 minutes at 200 degrees until soft and lightly browned.
Set the ricotta in a seize over a bowl and leave for 30 minutes to remove some of the liquid. In a bowl, whip the ricotta and Tajin with a fork until fluffy. Leave in the fridge until ready to use.
For the hot honey, combine the honey, urfa chilli flakes and chilli oil in a small bowl and leave to infuse.
When the pizza dough is ready, shape according to instructions, place on a well-floured cardboard sheet and layer with the tomato passata, mozzarella and aubergine. Follow baking instruction as per the burrata pizza.
Finish with a few dollops of the whipped ricotta, a generous drizzle of hot honey and some torn basil.
for the chorizo and red pepper pizza
1/3 of the pizza dough
flour, for dusting
3 tbsp tomato passata
2/3 ball of mozzarella, hand shredded
a few slices of chorizo, fried
1/2 jarred red bell pepper, finely sliced
3 dollops of the whipped ricotta from the aubergine pizza
black pepper to taste
When the pizza dough is ready, shape according to instructions, place on a well-floured cardboard sheet and layer with the tomato passata, mozzarella, chorizo and red pepper. Follow baking instruction as per the burrata pizza.
Finish with some of the whipped ricotta (from the aubergine pizza) and a crack of black pepper.
Thank you so much for reading! If you liked the recipe (or the ramblings) I’d love to hear your feedback 💛 and please do share the love using the link below.