This is my version of a takeaway pizza I use to eat growing up, like dominos or pizza hut, but I've tweaked it so it's fresher, bigger and tastier. We're making a simple dough recipe that will have a nice fluffy edge once you cook it. We'll make our own rich tomato sauce and then add some mozzarella cheese and a topping of your choice.
Category
Dinner
Servings
2 x pizzas
Prep time
2 minutes
Cook time
35 minutes
This is my version of a takeaway pizza I use to eat growing up, like dominos or pizza hut, but I've tweaked it so it's fresher, bigger and tastier. We're making a simple dough recipe that will have a nice fluffy edge once you cook it. We'll also make the sauce and turn it into a margherita pizza.
Ingredients
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350ml water (ambient temp)
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7g (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
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15g caster sugar
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500g bread flour
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20ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
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5g salt
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semolina, for dusting
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250g grated mozzarella cheese,
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2 tomatoes, diced
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800g can crushed tomatoes
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60ml (¼ cup) tomato paste (tomato puree)
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.5 tbsp dried oregano
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.5 tbsp dried basil
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.5 tbsp garlic powder
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.5 tbsp salt
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.5 tbsp caster sugar
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½ tsp white pepper
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Fresh diced pineapple, leg ham, grated mozzarella
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Sliced Pepperino, BBQ sauce, bacon, sausage, seasoned beef mince
Pizza sauce
Additional topping options
Directions
Make the dough
Combine the water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed to combine (about 1-2 minutes).
Add the flour and mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes. Pour in the olive oil and salt and mix for a further 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Transfer to your bench and bring it together with your hands until you have a lovely smooth surface and a nice tight ball (see cook support below if you need further instructions).
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside until doubled in size, 1-2 hours (depending on your room temperature).
Uncover the dough and knock back, then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces (for 10in pieces) and roll each into a tight ball (or 2 pieces for larger 12in pizzas, see notes below).
Place on a lightly oiled tray with space in between for spreading. Lightly oil the tops of the dough and cover with some cling wrap.
Set aside to proof again, until doubled in size, about 30 mins to 1 hour.
Make the sauce
Combine the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, sugar and pepper in a large saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, mixing well.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer the sauce for 20 mins.
Remove from the heat and puree the sauce with a stick blender, until smooth. Set aside to cool completely.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 230°C (445°F) fan forced, if you have a pizza stone you can place this in the oven also.
Lightly dust 3 pizza trays with some semolina. (if you don't have pizza trays, baking trays will work)
Stretch the dough balls out on a lightly floured surface to a 10in (25cm) circle, creating a thick rim around the edge (about 20mm). Place on the prepared pizza tray.
Spread the base with some of the pizza sauce, leaving a 15mm border for the crust. Sprinkle over the cheese, then top with the diced tomato (or add your chosen toppings).
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden and base is cooked.
Slide the pizzas onto a large chopping board and slice into 8 pieces and serve.
Recipe notes
Origins
This is a variation on the New York style pizza, to get as close to a store-bought Dominoes pizza as possible….but better!
Cook support
Rolling into a tight ball - take one end of the dough, slap it down and pull it back over the other end so the edge rolls under. Then grab the dough at the other side and repeat. Then use your hands to crimp it underneath and work it into a ball shape. This should only take a few steps as you don’t want to overwork it.
When shaping the dough into the pizza bases, work from the centre out and aim to keep as much air as possible in the edge to achieve that puffy crust.
This recipe makes approximately 900g of dough, which can make = 3 x 300g balls (10” base); 2 x 450g balls (12” base); 6 x 150g lunch size pizzas (7” base).
Sourcing
Semolina can be sourced from major supermarkets and quality green grocers, you don't want the super-fine semolina flour, ideally find some with a little coarseness.
Substitutions
Play around with whatever toppings you like for your pizza, just take care to not overload the topping as it can lead to a soggy base not quite cooking enough.
Storage: Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 5 days.