Cheap VS Steep – Homemade Pizza

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

For the dough (enough for 2 large pizza bases)

550g 00 flour, plus extra as necessary

Pinch salt

1tsp yeast

55g extra virgin olive oil

350ml cold water plus more as needed (use warm if not doing overnight chill)

For the sauce (makes enough for 5 pizzas)

800g tinned tomatoes

1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves

1tbsp sugar

50g marsala wine

Pinch salt and pepper

Handful basil leaves, torn

To top

1 Mozzarella ball (torn into pieces)

Pepperoni  slices

Extra basil leaves

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Ever wanted to know if the ingredients are really worth it when making your own pizza? Find out in this latest cheap vs steep – making the same pepperoni pizza with ingredients from a budget supermarket and luxury one compared!

The first thing to say is this is for a cold overnight pizza dough that does not need sugar or a lot of yeast, or even warm water. The cold water slows down the fermentation process to develop the flavour but still leaves it a little less over powering / tangy tasting, which we prefer. If you want to not wait overnight, use warm water and cover in a warm place to rise for an hour after a good knead before using.

Of all the ingredients from the video, we think a good flour and pepperoni is the biggest difference, get middle of the range tomato tins if you can though, the plum tomatoes were ok, but it does help give a bit more depth with better quality ones.

Overnight pizza recipe

For the dough at the flour and yeast into a large bowl that will fit in your fridge, stir in two thirds of the water to combine, then follow up with the salt and stir through, it will be rough. Slowly add in the oil and water mixing as you go, you want the mixture to not be too wet, but also definitely not try, a sort of tacky, rough texture is what you are looking for, so add all the water and oil if necessary. If it’s still dry, add some more water in small batches, too wet, more flour. Cover with clingfilm after kneading in the same bowl – don’t worry if it isn’t smooth yet, then leave in your fridge overnight.

Next day it should have risen but not as much as it would left in the warm. Knock back the dough and knead it on your work surface using more flour until super smooth. Shape into 2 pizza bases and dress your pizza with the sauce (steps below) and your toppings, before baking in a super hot oven at 240c / equivalent and keep your eye on it as it will cook very quick! You could also cook it in a frying pan to cook the base, then put the frying pan under the grill.

For the sauce (if using). Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often over a medium heat, once bubbling gently, lower the heat and simmer gently for approximately 5 minutes until reduced down. This works great on the pizza but also as a good based for pasta too! You’ll not need too much per pizza so this sauce will be good to make a good 5-6 large pizzas.