A Spectator Sport: Recipe | Pizza à la Lucy

If there is one thing you need to know about me it is that I love cooking things from scratch.

There are two reasons for this: One, I love the challenge and the satisfaction of eating something that I have created. Two, I can't stand the taste of things that have come from jars, out of plastic or 'fresh' from the freezer.

That is why I rarely eat pizza - I don't buy them shop bought and they do take a little bit of time to prepare.

I managed to find that time this weekend and whipped up some beautiful looking pizzas for Aidan and I to munch away on the sofa with Harry Potter.

You'll need:
520g strong white bread flour

120g strong white bread flour (for later)

4 teaspoons finely ground sea salt

3 sachets dried yeast

6 teaspoons golden caster sugar

420ml lukewarm water

Passata (or any tomato based sauce Jamie Oliver has a good recipe here.)
4-5 handfulls of Grated Mozzarella
4-5 handfulls of Grated Cheddar

And the all important topping! I chose Chorizo, Proscuitto, Chesnut mushrooms and a sprinkling of Spinach.

Method:
To start add the yeast and sugar to your water, mix with a fork and leave for a few minutes.

Place the flour into a bowl and create a well in the middle. Once the yeast mixture is slightly frothy on top pour into the flour well.

Use a fork and slowly bring flour into the well and mix with the water, it won't look very appetizing at the point in time! Continue to mix until you have incorporated all of the flour. When it becomes to hard to mix with a fork flour you hands and bring the dough together into a ball.

Flour the surface with your extra flour and knead the dough by rolling it backward and forward, stretching the dough towards you with one hand and away from you with another. Keep this going for 10 minutes (who needs the gym?!) until your dough is smooth, springy and soft.

NB. If you find the dough is sticky then keep adding flour until you are happy with the consistency.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film for about 45 minutes or until it is about double its size (keeping it somewhere warm helps this process).

Once prooved roll out (dust your surface with more flour if need be) into a circle about half a centimeter thick. Tear off a piece of tin foil and grease lightly with olive oil and then place the dough on top and then on a baking tray.

Smear the tomato passata or sauce over the dough and right to the edges. Place your toppings evenly over the surface and then give them a good covering of cheese (don't forget to save some for yourself).

Give it a good season with salt, pepper and/or garlic powder if you're that way inclined and pop it in the oven at 200°c for roughly 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly brown around the edges.