The dough for my pizza, as the title suggests, was made in a bread machine. I can't possibly do all that kneading myself and there aren't enough warm spots in the flat to really make it rise. I suppose the amounts would be the same if you weren't using one, but then increase the rising time according to the heat of your warm spots! I used strong bread flour although the bread machine book suggested plain - also personal preference on how thick you want your crust.
Bread machine Pizza
Serves 2 if eaten on it's own, 4 if eaten with chips and salad (for example)
Using the bread machine with extra rising time it took about 2 hours in all
For the dough:
150ml tepid water
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp salt
280g strong bread (or plain) flour
1 tsp sugar
1tsp easy yeast (the stuff you don't have to activate first)
For the topping:
Half a jar of pizza sauce (yeah, yeah, lazy option!)
2 big handfuls of grated mozzarella
The rest is up to you, I used sliced mushrooms, orange pepper/ricotta and green olives.
* If using a bread machine, add the dough ingredients in the order I gave and fllow the instructions to make pizza dough. On mine this kneads for a few mintues then rises, taking a total of 30mins. If you aren't using a machine, then.. uhm. I guess you combine the dry and wet ingredients like you would a cake and knead it lots! Best look for another recipe online for that.
* I didn't find my bread risen enough in the machine alone, so I left it to rise for an additional hour. Your times will vary.
* When you are satisfied with your dough, first preheat your oven to 200C (fan oven, 220C conventional). Then take your dough, punch it back to remove excess air and using a combination of rolling pin and stretching with your hands, flatten it onto a 12" pizza tray according to your desired thickness.
* Spread the pizza sauce on top and sprinkle over the cheese.
* Chop/dice any additional toppings and sprinkle them over the rest. By now your oven is probably ready, so you can pop it right in.
* Cook for around 10 minutes, but keep an eye on it. Pizzas can go from perfect to hopelessly dry and burnt in only a couple of minutes!
* Enjoy your yummy (mostly) homemade pizza!
