How to make your own pizza dough and tomato sauce

Pierre loves pizza. So do I, with a big caveat though…. it has to be goooooood pizza, from proper pizza place.

Except there isn’t such a place close to our house. Which, let’s be honest, pizza is a meal we get on a random Friday night when we can’t be bothered cooking.

This one Friday, with a bit of inspiration and a lot of procrastination, I knew Pierre was going to walk in the door suggesting pizza for dinner, but from the place I really do not enjoy eating at. And I really didn’t want average pizza.

So I made some dough and my classic tomato sauce ( as he calls it: ‘Big Mamma Lou’s tomato sauce’) and he loved it.

I’ve tested the dough and the sauce recipe on a few willing participants and so far 100% success. There’s nothing like making your own pizza and it’s much easier than you think.

How to make tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped

• 5 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 800g fresh tomatoes, chopped

• 1 tablespoon dried herbs

• Salt

• Pepper

Method

• In a pot on medium heat, sautee onions with a little salt for around 10 minutes.

• Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

• Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

• Cook sauce for 10 minutes with lid on. Then for another 10 minutes with the lid half on – to reduce liquid. Cook sauce for as long as you like, around 30 minutes things get magical.

• Store in an airtight container in fridge for around 1 week. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

How to make your own pizza dough

Ingredients

• 300mL – 350mL lukewarm water

• 2 tsp dry yeast

• 1 tbsp coconut sugar

• 450g flour (I use spelt – which may require a bit more water)

• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

• Add water, yeast, sugar to a bowl. Mix well and leave to activate for 5-10 minutes.

• Add flour and salt to bowl. Mix to combine.

• Make a well in the centre and slowly pour water mixture into the bowl with the flour. Gently mix to combine until a stiff dough forms.

• Place on a floured surface and knead dough for around 5 minutes until it’s shiny and bounces back when you press it.

• Rub some olive oil around the bowl (so dough doesn’t stick while resting) and cover with cling wrap. Place in a warm spot in kitchen.

• Leave to rise for minimum 1 hour.

• Makes 4 balls of dough.

How to make a Margherita pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients

• 1 dough ball – using recipe above.

• 1/3 – 1/2 cup tomato sauce – using recipe above

• A good handful of mozzarella cheese

• Chopped tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes

• Optional: chopped olives, mushrooms, fresh basil

Method

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

• Keep your oven tray in the oven so it gets super hot.

• Carefully remove tray from oven and place on a heat proof surface/chopping board.

• Line tray with baking paper and place dough on top of baking paper.

• Scoop tomato sauce on base and use the back of spoon to spread out to edges.

• Top with your choice of toppings.

• Place in oven and bake. You’ll need to monitor this. My oven takes 15 minutes to cook the pizza fully.