Bellissimo pizza recipe
I love cooking with my daughter and the other day we decided to try something we hadn't cooked before… PIZZA!
Cooking helps your little one to learn about following instructions, sequencing, and develops their patience. Today we used our motor skills to mix together and roll out our ingredients. We were all impressed with the final product!
The bellissimo pizza recipe makes two pizzas, serving four people.
Preparation time: 25 minutes. Cooking time: 10 minutes.
Ingredients
For the base:
300g strong bread flour
One teaspoon instant yeast (from a sachet or a tub)
One teaspoon salt
One teaspoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
For the tomato sauce:
100ml tomato passata
A handful of fresh basil or one teaspoon of dried basil
One garlic clove, crushed
For the topping:
125g mozzarella ball, sliced
A handful of grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Pepperoni slices
To finish:
A handful of fresh basil leaves (optional)
Cooking Guide
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 five minutes 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.
Make the sauce: Mix the tomato passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.
Roll out the dough: If you have 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.
Top and bake: Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C /gas mark 8. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf.
Smooth the sauce over the bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter the cheese, tomatoes, and pepperoni on top, then drizzle over the olive oil and season.
Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for between eight and ten minutes, or until crisp.
Serve with a little more olive oil, and the fresh basil leaves.
While you're enjoying the first pizza, bake the second in the same way.
We hope you have as much fun as we did!
