Quick pizza dough recipe- pizza ready in half an hour!

This is the quickest and easiest dough recipe ever. And, as an added bonus, it tastes damn good! You can have this pizza on the table, including making the dough in under half an hour. It is a simple and tasty crowd pleaser!

Ingredients

375g plain flour
1 heaped dessert spoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 7g sachet of fast action yeast
2 tablespoons oil of your choice
225ml warm water

Method

• Put the flour in a large bowl- as you can see I used cheap flour and it worked fine

• Add all caster sugar and salt

• Sprinkle in fast action yeast

• Add oil and warm water and mix it all up with a large spoon

• Until it starts to come together. Add more flour if too sloppy or more oil if the mixture won't come together

• Then knead on a floured surface until the dough forms a neat ball

And that is it! It is now ready to use. If you have time you can pop it in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for an hour or two. Then when it has doubled 'knock it back' (which just means give it a quick knead) and you are set. But, I have done it both ways and even without the rising this dough tastes wonderful so please don't be afraid to use it straight away.

Topping the pizza

I use a combination of tomato puree and tomato ketchup usually. Although I have used BBQ sauce, passata with herbs and a garlic butter. The choice is yours!

I make this pizza on those occasions when I have a random few bits and bobs in the fridge to use up. 3 mushrooms, half an onion, a tin of tuna and one tomato won't make a meal but it will make a pizza! Use anything and everything you have. I recently experimented with sun dried tomato, spinach and cheese (as that's what I had left over) I added the tomato base and dolloped pesto on top before popping in the oven. 

Cook on GM 5/190 C for about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven and the toppings you choose.

This is the finished products from the above amount of dough. Enjoy!

Bread (of heaven)

Have you noticed how much the price of a loaf of bread has increased lately?! Especially if, like most, it is one of those items you rely on the "corner shop" for midweek. A quick scan in mine shows you cannot buy a decent loaf for under £1.30. Sure, they have that value bread that is of questionable quality, very rubbery and all together quite "yuck" that I will admit we have resorted to on occasion. But we have worked out that it costs under 40p to make a high quality loaf with no hidden nasties, no additives/flavourings/preservatives. And it makes your house smell like a home. Convinced? Give it a go!

So what's the alternative? As always, the cheaper option is DIY. I was always put off making bread as I thought it was something you could only do with considerable skill and/or a bread maker. Happily not so. Below is my super easy bread recipe but Google throw up a million variations and I'm sure with a little practise they would all be lovely!

White Bread

500g strong white bread flour (extra for dusting)
7g sachet of yeast
2tsp salt
300ml hand hot water
3 dessert spoons olive/sunflower oil

Method

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl
Make a well in the centre of mix
Add oil and water in well
Mix thoroughly until a non sticky dough forms. (If sticky add a little more flour)
Knead well on floured surface for 10mins (very therapeutic actually!!)
When smooth pop back in bowl, cover with tea towel and leave in warm place for 1 hour-until dough doubles
Remove from bowl and 'knock back' by kneading for 1-2 mins
Shape dough into whatever shape you prefer (remember to cut a cross in top of loaf) or transfer to loaf tin (score a line down the centre of loaf)
Leave to rise for 1 hour in warm place
Preheat oven to 220c or GM 7 and put loaf in centre of oven for 25-30 mins
To check if cooked tap the base of loaf- if it sounds hollow it is cooked.

TIP- Add a roasting tray with a cup of cold water to base of oven to create a shinier more crusty crust.

TIP- Use oil instead of flour when kneading the dough- this will result in softer bread. I haven't tried this one!