Who doesn’t love pizza? This dish, originating from Italy, has become popular worldwide, with different countries and communities putting their own, person spin on the dish. The classic margarita is probably best known, invented in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito and created in honor of Italy’s unification, it features three toppings – basil, mozzarella, and tomato – to represent the green, white, and red of the Italian flag. Then we have the Chicago pizza, first created in Chicago in 1943, with a real deep pan base and cheese lying under the sauce. The New York style pizza, large slices from a hand-tossed thin crust. The controversial Hawaiian, featuring ham and pineapple. The list goes on and on. We’re getting hungry just thinking about it! If you’re planning on making your own pizza from scratch, rather than ordering in or opting for an oven pizza, here are some top tips that will guide you on your journey!
The Dough
The first step of pizza preparation – the dough. Now, if you want to make life easier for yourself, you can always buy pre-made dough, which can simply be rolled out into your chosen shape and toppings added on top. If you want to go authentic, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and follow a pizza dough recipe. Most pizza doughs will require a combination of flour, water, active dried yeast and oil. Some will add a pinch of salt. Remember that it will need time to prove, so statt making in advance of when you actually want your pizza.
The Sauce
All pizzas require a sauce. For most, this will be a traditional, tomato passata. This can be bought in tubes, cans, cartons or hand made if you have a good quality blender. Smoothness is essential. Of course, you can mix things up a bit by using an alternative sauce for the base. BBQ tends to be the second most popular option.
The Cheese
The vast majority of pizzas will have cheese. Whether that’s margarita, a three cheese combination, any other form of cheese or even a plant-based alternative if you’re opting for a vegan pizza. Choose what best appeals to you and make sure you have plenty to sprinkle or share around the entire base.
The Toppings
Here comes the fun part – toppings. What are you going to put on top of your pizza for flavour and texture? The world really is your oyster when it comes to this. Are you going to go for a loaded meat feast? Maybe some simple slices of pepperoni. Faux meats are popular. A mix of vegetables, such as peppers, olives or sweetcorn could be good. Experiment and find what’s good for you. Spread them evenly to make sure that all slices of your pizza are equally delicious.
These are just a few examples that can really help you to make your own pizza from scratch. Of course, it’s going to take practice to create something that is social media worthy, but you can guarantee that every single creation you make is going to taste great!
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