Weeknight Pizza

Quick pan pizza with a long, slow ferment for maximum flavour and minimal effort.

Ingredients

Dough

• 252g water
• 10g sugar
• 7g salt
• 0.8g instant yeast
• 16g olive oil
• 291g strong plain flour
• 32g wholemeal flour

Toppings

• 250g good quality tinned crushed tomatoes
• Coarse sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Dried oregano
• 500g grated mozzarella
• 6 slices prosciutto

Method

1. Make dough: In a large bowl, combine water, sugar, and salt. Mix until dissolved.
2. Add yeast and mix well.
3. Add olive oil and both flours. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
4. Rest for 5 minutes, then bring dough into a ball (optional).
5. Leave dough covered on the bench for 10-11 hours at 25°C.
6. Generously oil a large baking tray or two smaller trays.
7. Spread dough into oiled tray, allowing resting periods as needed to let dough relax and stretch to fill the pan.
8. Preheat oven to 230°C.
9. Spread crushed tomatoes over dough. Season with sea salt, black pepper, and dried oregano.
10. Top with grated mozzarella.
11. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
12. Top with prosciutto slices immediately after removing from oven.
13. Let rest for 2-3 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition (per serving, approximate)

Notes

The long ferment develops complex flavour. Plan ahead to start dough the night before or early morning.

Use a dough calculator to adjust quantities for different pan sizes.

For vegetarian version, omit prosciutto and add vegetables before baking.

Source: Culinary Exploration

Tags: #italian #pizza