Pizza is a firm favourite in many households and it's super easy to make your own at home. You just need to remember to sort out your dough in advance and have the time to work it at various stages in the leadup to making your pizzas.

Makes two large 30cm pizzas. Serving size is around 2-3 pieces when a single pizza is cut into 8 even slices (alternatively you could make 3-4 mini pizzas instead).

Ingredients

DOUGH
Time to make: 2-3 hours

•  250g plain flour
• 2 tsp active dried yeast
• 150ml warm water
• 1/2 tsp salt

TOPPINGS

• 1 cup grated cheese per pizza (preferably mozzarella but you can use regular cheese)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste per pizza
• 1/2 to 1 cup your choice of veges per pizza (could be capsicum, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, onion...)
• Any additional toppings you want to add (i.e. pepperoni, roast chicken, ham, olives)
• 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs per pizza (or you can use a quarter cup of fresh herbs such as oregano, thyme, basil)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sauce (optional, to swirl on top i.e. barbecue, tomato etc.)

Method

DOUGH

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast into 100ml of the water and allow to dissolve for 10 mins. Add a few tablespoons of the flour and stir into the water. Cover and leave for around half an hour or until it begins to look frothy.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt together, then work the ingredients together. Lightly flour your benchtop, transfer the dough to it and knead for around 10 minutes or until smooth.
• Form into a ball, lightly oil the large bowl then place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a clean teatowel and allow it to rise in a warm area for around 1 1/2 hours (you can cut this proofing time short, but your dough will likely be denser and flatter).
• Split the dough into two balls, punch them down to push the air out of them, then reshape and return back to the oiled bowl for anther 30 minutes.
• Add a little more flour onto your benchtop then use a rolling pin to roll one of the dough balls into a 30cm circle. Repeat with the other ball of dough.

TOPPINGS

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Spread each base with tomato paste leaving around 1cm edge all the way around the outside for the crust. Sprinkle evenly with Italian herbs and a little salt and pepper. Add your toppings then finish up with grated cheese. Finish off with a swirl of your favourite sauce if you wish.

Some topping combos you might like to try:

• Vegetarian: Mushrooms, red onion, olives, capsicum
• Supreme: Pepperoni/salami, bacon, onion, olives, capsicum
• Hawaiian: Ham, pineapple, red onion
• Greek: Crumbled feta, red onion, olives, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, parsley

Bake in oven for 12 minutes or until the cheese and outer crust turn golden.

TIPS

• Bump up your veg serving for the meal with a side salad.
• Pizzas are great for repurposing leftovers.
• If you have trouble getting the dough off your benchtop after rolling it out, try adding a little extra flour to the bench to prevent it sticking.

Image / NZ Real Health