We all know the drill.
Setting your oven to 290C or greater will give your pizza that nice blistered crust. A pizza stone is porous and has a high Specific Heat Capacity, and so baking pizzas on one gives the crust a bit more of a crisp. A cast-iron pan is a viable alternative, and also frames the pizza for an oh-so-instagramable photo.
If you have an oven capable of reaching 290C, or have high maintenance cast-iron pans or dedicated pizza making equipment around, this is not the pizza recipe for you. For the rest of us who craves pizza three times a week but don't have shelf space or money for all these special equipment, welcome! Despite using stainless steel sheet pans (salvaged from ancient toasters and the likes) and an oven that tops at 210C, my sister calls this the best pizza she had in a long time. That makes me pretty confident that anyone can do this with their existing home equipment too.
A pizza dinner can feel like a special affair, but it isn't meant to be expensive. After all, it started off as food for the working poor, who needed something hot, filling and to be eaten on-the-go. I like my pizzas with a heap of onions, which is inexpensive and melds into something sweet and wonderful in the oven. Shiitake mushrooms is always a good option, and literally any protein you find hanging around your freezer can find its way into a pizza easily. Leftover salmon or frozen prawns, sausages and bacon, and any and all bits of minced or sliced meat in the freezer. I unfreeze whatever I see, and then hunt around the spice cupboard and fridge for sauces and seasonings. Think of this pizza as a casserole - one with a crisp flatbread and topped with an abundance of cheese.
Thin Crust Pizza Recipe - for the Ordinary Oven
Adapted from Foolproof Pan Pizza Recipe by Serious Eats
Makes for 3 medium sized (11x8") pizzas
The pizza dough has plenty of downtime waiting for the dough to proof. But on the bright side, there's not too much work involved, and it can be a fun family activity for any young 'uns around the house. This is another winning recipe from the team at Serious Eats, and I've come to realise that I'd never done a recipe from them that didn't turn out perfect. They have several other pizza dough recipes, including one New York style and a Neapolitan Pizza version. There are many different styles of pizza which can be quite intimidating, but this guide from King Arthur is a good one to start off with.
INGREDIENTS
400g bread flour, plus more for dusting
10g salt
4g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
275g water
8g extra-virgin olive oil (0.25 ounces; about 2 teaspoons), plus more to coat pans and for drizzling
1 1/2 cups canned tomato puree, or a pizza sauce such as New York–style pizza sauce
300g shredded mozzarella, or a combination of mozzarella with other shredded cheeses (such as cheddar)
Toppings - see below for suggestions
STEPS
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil until there are no pockets of dry ingredients. (The bowl should be large enough to accommodate the dough proofing, which can triple in size.)
Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then allow dough to rest at room temperature for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours. In a warm environment, the dough may overproof near the end of that range. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl.
Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of 3 pans. Dust your work surface, hands and the top of the dough with flour, and divide the dough into 3 pieces. Form each into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself. Rotate until a tight smooth surface is formed.
Place each ball of dough in the prepared pizza pan, turning to coat the dough with olive oil. Press the dough flat and outwards to the edge of the pan as possible. It'll shrink back inwards now, that's normal. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 2 hours.
After 2 hours, the dough would be more relaxed, and you should be able to coax it to the edges of the pan. Using your fingertips, burst any large bubbles that appear. Gently lift off one edge of the dough to let air bubbles underneath escape, then repeat along the other edges until there are no more air bubbles and the dough is evenly spread around the pan.
Top each dough with a layer of tomato purée, up to the very edge of the dough. Add desired toppings (see below). Sprinkle with cheese, again all the way to the edges.
Set a tray at the lowest rack. Preheat oven to maximum temperature (which is about 210C for mine). As you put the pizza in, turn off the top heating coil (leaving only the bottom coil on.) Bake for 20-25 mins, until the bottom is lightly browned and crisp (you can remove the pizza from the oven and inspect with a thin spatula. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, return to oven.) Then, turn on the top coil and bake for another 5 mins, until the cheese is bubbling and browned.
Allow the pizza to cool slightly before serving. Grate Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese over finished pizza (optional)
Toppings:
- Sliced onions, shiitake mushrooms, roasted garlic help fill out your pizza and give layers of taste and texture.
- Proteins (poultry, lamb or beef or pork) is always welcome. These can be minced or sliced. You will need to cook the meat prior to adding it to the pizza. I like seasoning the meat with thyme, cumin, salt and pepper (with a couple of teaspoons of baking soda to tenderise the meat), and sauté over medium heat until cooked. Premixed seasoning or sauces (even Lee Kum Kee) would work too.
- seafood: salmon, prawns, squid. These should be cooked prior. Do not add it to the pizza before baking the pizza off, as the seafood will overcook in the oven. Cook the pizza to completion, then add the seafood in. My new favourite pizza has a combination of thinly sliced kimchi, prawns, mushrooms, garlic and onions.
- pepperoni or sausages, sliced.
