Everybody loves pizza!

The other week photographer Jesse Seaward and myself took to the studio to take some food shots and below are the results!

I love pizza! Who doesn’t love pizza? And what more would you want to accompany them than a massive pot of mayonnaise? [My mouth's watering as I write!] Once you start making your own you’ll realise just how rubbish supermarket pizzas are and even some great takeaway pizza places will start to seem dull in comparison with the crisp-based beauties that’ll be coming out of your oven.

I started making pizzas because I enjoyed making bread, simple. However pizza dough is so simple that anyone can do it, even on a work night. Simply throw it all together and then leave it until you start getting hungry, they only take about 10 minutes so arrive home, chuck ingredients together, shower, change, have a beer and then the dough will be ready! Easy.

In answer to the 2 questions everybody asks when making homemade pizzas:

1.     Can you actually make great pizas in a normal home oven? – Yes you can, a proper pizza oven is way hotter than a normal home oven but you can get truly outstanding results from any domestic oven.

2.     Does a pizza stone make any difference? – Yes it does, the bottom will be crispier and less chance of a soggy base. If you want to spend extra money then get one but it’s not essential.

(For the tomato sauce I simply get a good can of chopped tomatoes, put it in a pan with loads of salt and pepper and simmer for around 30 mins until reduced and thick)

Ingredients (Makes 3 pizzas):

Pizza Dough –

14g dried yeast

250g strong bread flour

250g ‘00’ flour

10g salt

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp olive oil

water

Topping –

1 can chopped tomatoes (reduced until thick)

2 Mozzarella balls

200g good sun dried tomatoes or oven dried tomatoes

1 pack of basil

Olive oil

Method:

-       Put the yeast with 100ml water and 100g bread flour and whisk until it becomes a smooth thick paste

-       Leave this mixture for 15 minutes until it begins to bubble (this is to get  the yeast started a bit, it’s called a sponge)

-       Add the rest of the flours, olive oil, salt and water and mix in a bowl until the mixture comes together to a soft and slightly sticky ball

-       Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and the dough pushs back when you poke your finger in.

-       Leave the dough for around an hour or until the mixture has doubled in size (you can leave it for longer so the best thing to do is forget about it and then make the pizzas when you’re hungry!)

-       Preheat your oven as hot as it will go, 250 degrees with most ovens

-       Spread a small amount of tomato sauce onto the base, rip up some mozzarella and place on the pizza along with the tomatoes

-       Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on how good your oven is

-       Garnish with ripped basil and a splash of olive oil

Who needs a take away pizza when you’ve got these?!

Petit Choux

So these might look hard to make but really aren't. They taste great and look pretty darn cool. This is basically the start of a croque-en-bouche for all of those who are more daring but I prefer them as a bite-sized post meal treat!

Enjoy

Ingredients:

75g butter

200ml water

A pinch of salt

100g plain flour, sifted

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Method:

- Preheat an oven to 200C

- Put the butter, water and salt into a pan over a low heat

- Once melted turn up the heat and boil

- Using a folded sheet of paper 'shoot' the sifted flour into the liquid and quickly stir until the mixture is combined (don't over-beat)

- Leave the mixture to cool until you can touch the bottom of the pan for 10 seconds

- Pour a little of the eggs into the mixture and beat until incorporated

- Repeat this process until the mixture looks smooth, glossy and holds its shape (depending on the size of the eggs you may need to add slightly more or slightly less)

- Put the mixture into a piping bag

- Onto a liberally buttered and water splashed baking sheet pipe 2p sized dollops of the mixture

- Bake for 15 minutes until pale brown, they should shake off the baking sheet

- Immediately turn then upside down and poke a hole in the bottom to release the steam

At this point you can fill with whipped cream and top with a chocolate sauce or dip in caramel or fill with a cheese sauce. I prefer to dip them in caramel to add a crunch and then fill with whipped cream.