When the lockdown began, I started craving for some pizza and it took a while before I could order some pizza again. Because I had more time in my hands instead of travelling to and from work, I decided to study how to make Pizza. I really wanted to do this for a long time. It took a lot of tries, but eventually I pulled it off. Let me share it with you all.
The Crust
Ingredients:
¾ Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Yeast
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
Steps:
1. Heat the ¾ cups of water in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Pour it in a bowl and mix in the 2 tablespoons of sugar until all the granules are dissolved.
2. Wait until the water becomes lukewarm, then add the 1 teaspoon of yeast. Add it on the center and don’t mix. It should spread itself.
3. Leave it for about 10 minutes. While at it, you may already mix the 2 cups of flour in a separate container with 1 teaspoon of salt.
4. If the sugar-water and yeast mixture has begun to froth, add tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, then add the flour-salt mix in the bowl. Mix it with a spoon, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl. Mix it until you can no longer stir it with the spoon.
5. Wash your hands and dry them, then spread some flour on a flat surface. put some flour on your hands too and start kneading the dough for about 10 minutes. Make sure everything is incorporated into the dough.
6. Get another bowl and spread some extra virgin olive oil around the inside of it. Form the dough into a ball and place it inside the bowl. Make sure the dough is coated in a thin layer of oil.
7. Close the bowl with some cling wrap or a damp cloth. Let the dough proof for at least two hours. I recommend four hours for some gluten to form.
Additional tips:
1. Don’t use Magnolia flour. Use Maya for the best results (These are flour brands in the Philippines).
2. While kneading the dough, apply more pressure to get more gluten to form.
3. Water content is critical. The stickier the dough, the better crust it will form but the harder it will be to handle. It’ll be up to you to measure the exact water content to determine the dough’s stickiness. Don’t add too much water.
Toppings
You can put in any toppings you like, but the essentials are the pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. After forming the dough into a crust, put in the sauce first, then the cheese. Afterwards, you may put the toppings that you want and place it in the oven at 230 degrees Celsius for about 12-15 minutes or until the crust starts to turn a bit brownish. Generally, that’s how to make DIY pizza.
Categories: Lockdown, Pizza, Food, DIY, General