i love teh pizza, it is truly the food of the gods. :fact:

i made one over the weekend & took a few snaps to make a quick & easy guide on how to make one to share with you good people of dogbomb

they're easy to make, just takes a bit of effort and about 45 mins of time, but is (in my opinion) well worth it

i appreciate that as a meal option its probably on the higher end of the scale when it comes to calorie or fat content, but made properly with fresh ingredients making your own is certainly far better for you than ringing dominoes and there are many steps you can take to keep it healthy

anyway, without further ado...pizza a la safe feeds 4 (or 2 greedy bastards)
you will need...

for tomato sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- splash of olive oil
- twist of black pepper
- pinch salt
- herbs (optional)
- parika (optional)

for rest of it
- 250g mozzerella
- bread mix (you can use flour/yeast etc but this is quicker)
- whatever toppings you fancy
(i've used 2 large mushrooms, handfull of olives, pepperoni & chorizo)

first of all we need to turn this lot into a tomato sauce (this makes enough for 2 pizzas but its easier to do 2 at once & freeze some rather than work with tiny quantities of ingredients)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza1.JPG

add approx a dessert spoon of olive oil to a saucepan & warm it up - don't overheat it!! - then crush your clove of garlic & gently fry in in the oil for a minute or so till it starts turning translucent (careful not to burn it else it'll taste bitter)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza2.JPG

if you want to add some paprika, add it now before the tomatoes go in. Paprika will add a bit of heat, a bit of colour and a bit of richness to your sauce, but its not to everyones taste so its up to you

next, add your 2 tins of chopped tomatoes

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza3.JPG

this is a good point at which to add some herbs - pop in a pinch of mixed herbs or oregano, or both. your mixture is a bit watery at this point so turn the heat down as low as it'll go & simmer for about 20 minutes (which is about how long it takes to sort out the rest of your pizza)

eventually you're looking to get rid of all the water from your sauce & reduce it down by at least a half of its original volume to a thick paste, as below (sorry about the steam in the way)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza4.JPG

while your sauce is reducing, get started on your base

you can use flour, yeast & all that proper stuff, but for ease of use i bought a packet of bread mix - anyone can use these, you just add water (i used half of the 500g packet pictured)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza5.JPG

once you've added water to your bread mix & mixed to a nice elastic consistency, it should look a bit like this

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza6.JPG

set this aside for 5-10 mins to rise a little, while you're doing this you can get your cheese grated

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza7.JPG

approx 250g mozzerella will do nicely, mozerella is a reasonably low fat cheese (24g per 100g - for comparison your average cheddar is 36g per 100g) although if thats a bit too much you can use reduced fat edam (12g per 100g fat) because edam has similar properties to mozerella when melted (ie: it melts evenly and becomes nice & stringy!)

next get your toppings sorted. i've sliced some olives & large musrooms, and bought some pre-sliced chorizo & pepperoni from the deli counter at tesco

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza8.JPG

obviously - add whatever you prefer as a pizza topping, altho one useful tip is, if you are using anything with a high water content (eg: mushrooms, peppers) pop them in the oven on a low heat to get some of the water out after slicing but before putting them onto your pizza otherwise this water will end up on your pizza making your base soggy (and nobody wants that)

right - time to put everything together

roll out your dough onto a suitable flat cooking implement (i have teh 12" baking stone cos i love pizza soooo much, but any flat baking sheet will do the job)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza9.JPG

roll it nice & thin over the main part of the tray/stone/whatever but make it a bit thicker at the "crust" parts because these (unlike the bits underneath the toppings) will be exposed to direct heat & will cook quicker..what you're trying to do is ensure the exposed bits of base and the bits underneath your toppings cook evenly rather than getting burnt cursts & a wobbly middle

also notice the little bit of uncovered surface - this is so that you can pick it up & get it out of the oven when its piping hot....very useful if you're covering the entire area of your baking tray/stone/whatever

you can at this point brush a little olive oil over the crust area, this will make it turn golden brown during cooking. not essential if you'd prefer not to add uneccesary oil to your food

next, add some tomato sauce to the base - don't go mad, just a thin, (fairly) even coating around the middle of the base (the rest of the sauce can be frozen for next week's pizza :) )

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza10.JPG

cheese comes next

(Tip - don't use all the cheese, keep about a handful back for later)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza11.JPG

then your toppings

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza12.JPG

whilst you should be spacing your toppings out evenly, at this point you are free to show "favouritism" to the portion that will eventually be yours

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza13.JPG

remember the last handfull of cheese you kept back? last thing to do before putting it into the oven is sprinkle this over the top - this will turn golden & crispy once cooked & adds to the appearance and texture of your finished pizza

you can also sprinkle a little paprika and extra herbs over the top too, for extra flavour and a nicer appearance - paprika will ensure the cheese turns golden & crispy which really enhances the appearance. perfect for a bit of wow factor if you're serving to friends


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza14.JPG

into a pre-heated over at 200 deg C

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza15.JPG

15-20 minutes later you've got the perfect pizza......eat & enjoy :D

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-6/1265339/pizza16.JPG

WOW.

Excellent footage and instructions, and they look yumlicious!

mmm looks damn good - looks pretty cheap and easy to make. Might add it to my meal roster (which currently mostly consists of "student pasta")

Top thread Safe!

My gawd that looks yummo! I'm gonna have to make it when I get time. I'll post pictures of it up on here so you can pat me on the back for good work, or slap me for insulting your awesome pizza :D

fuck it i'm going to make pizza now! damn hungry!

that looks good. I've been doing a french bread pizza for a while now, but I've been using a jar of sauce. I've been meaning to have a go at making the sauce, but not got around to it, so I'll try your recipe out I think!
Thumbs up!

Nice looking pizza, Safe.

I often make pizzas (I am teh pizza god, 'cause I worked in a pizza parlour for 4 years) but I never make the base, 'cause it's always too much effort. So I buy ready-made bases and then put toppings on. But that bread dough looks handy, and must taste nicer.

Where do you buy the baking stone thingy from? I've never seen one...

And, doesn't the base in the middle stay uncooked if you don't pre-cook it before you add the toppings? In the pizza parlour we always used bases that had been pre-cooked.

I like cooking up a spicy chicken tikka with tomatoes and onion and putting that on a pizza... yum.

Nice one safe.

Out of interest how long did you spend cleaning the oven in preparation for this thread? Tis very shiny.

And, doesn't the base in the middle stay uncooked if you don't pre-cook it before you add the toppings? In the pizza parlour we always used bases that had been pre-cooked.

bread mix is a great idea, i'm a big fan :D the base is rolled very thin so it does cook, and i prefer teh thin crust. can't remeber where i bought the stone sorry i've had it years. i suspect its a local cookware shop. i'll have a nose around next time i'm in town to see if any chain-type places do them

Nice one safe.
Out of interest how long did you spend cleaning the oven in preparation for this thread? Tis very shiny.
d'oh....rumbled :D

Great gorgeous pizza , safe.

Why so tight with the tomato base dressing though?

You can also use barbecue sauce for the base. Dominoes do this and it is lovely, especially with smoked ham. Another one is to either add some finely chopped chillis to the tomato base or tobasco sauce. The amount is up to your personal preference.

I did this once and added some red kidney beans, along with some small meat balls I made with minced beef. I fried the meat balls first so the meat was cooked then placed them on top of the sauce, with the cheese on top. So I pretty much made chilli con carne pizza, it was delicious.

I've never bothered making my own bases before so I will have to give the bread mix a try. Though I don't know how well it will work with a deeper pan.

works fine with deep pan Lurk, but as GIR says, put the base in to cook for 3-5 mins before adding tomatoes/toppings etc so that its not cooked on the outside & soggy in the middle

Why so tight with the tomato base dressing though?
s'how i like em fella,....and its in teh healthy eating forum so was trying to keep it healthy :D

I'm going to try 'em tonight! (if I can find baking trays/stone-thingy at lunch. If not then I have to use ready made bases again)

I did a veganlicious version today! It tastes yum, though the dough is kinda weird.

I also added kidney beans to the sauce, and I WAS gonna put peppers on top but forgot

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/560/picture12tl7.jpg

Where's all the bloody pics gone to?!

Ah but making the base is part of the fun... Especially if you've had a terrible day at work and can beat the living daylights out of the dough!

I want the pics back too! Especially that oh-so shiny oven!

Yeah, no piccy's here either :( I remember making pizza many years ago in a roasting tin so the base was tres thick and got all squidgy on top from the tomato sauce and putting barbeque chicken and mushroom on it, or ham and pineapple and it would feed about 8 people but was fantastic. I used to make it for roleplay meets and they went down a storm :D

sorry, dunno what happened to the pics, my subscription to whatever free hosting site they're on prolly ran out or something. i'll have a look tomorrow


found em - i'd exceeded my limit on the free account i have at villagephotos