Almost Homemade

At Westbourne, we had a blast making and devouring some delicious pizzas for dinner, even though we didn't follow the recipe entirely from scratch. The pizzas turned out to be a hit! We have a go-to recipe, but this time we decided to skip a few steps (the base). If you'd like to try our tried-and-true recipe after seeing how mouthwatering our pizzas looked, follow the recipe below.

Ingredients
For the base
300g strong bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast (from a sachet or a tub)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
For the tomato sauce
100ml passata
handful fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 garlic clove, crushed
For the topping
Go crazy

Method
STEP 1 Make the base: Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it’s not essential for a thin crust.

 
STEP 2 Make the sauce: Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.

 
STEP 3 Roll out the dough: if you’ve let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split it into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.

 
STEP 4 Top and bake: heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter with cheese tomatoes and toppings of choice, drizzle with olive oil and season. Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp. Serve with a little more olive oil. Repeat the step for the remaining pizza.

You're welcome!