No Prove Pizza Dough

My cousin came to visit me a couple of days ago and we decided we wanted to make pizza for lunch. We used a recipe for pizza dough that doesn’t require any proving time. This makes it perfect for when you haven’t planned very far in advance, as it means you can be eating pizza made from scratch in under an hour. It produces a good thin, crisp base and although I think the traditional proven pizza dough does have slightly more flavour, this is a very satisfactory second.

Our pizzas turned out looking very different. I topped mine with spinach and butternut squash, and my cousin topped hers with lots of tomato and cheese. They both looked very attractive after baking and tasted delicious.

No Prove Pizza Dough

Ingredients
30g dried yeast

½ tsp caster sugar

250g strong plain flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil
125 warm water

Method
Preheat the oven to 250C and place two baking trays or pizza stones into the oven to heat up.
Crumble yeast into the warm water, add the sugar and stir until relatively smooth.
Add the flour and salt to a large bowl and make a dip in the centre. Pour over the yeast mixture and the olive oil.
Bring the mixture together into a dough, before turning out onto a lightly floured surface and kneading for around 3-5 minutes until smooth and soft.
Divide the dough into two and roll each piece out into a 9 inch round, directly onto a square of greaseproof paper.
Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the base and top with the ingredients of your choice.
Remove the baking trays or pizza stone from the oven and holding them level with the countertop, pull the greaseproof paper/pizza onto the tray.
Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden brown around the edges.
Makes two 9inch pizzas

Spinach and Multi Veg Pizza

Spread the dough with a thin layer of tomato sauce (a reduction of oregano and chopped tomatoes) and top with a double layer of fresh baby spinach leaves. Scatter over thin strips of orange pepper, sweetcorn, sliced mushrooms and 1cm square cubes of butternut squash. Top with a few slices of fresh mozzarella if desired and bake.

Cheesy Tomato and Onion Pizza
Spread a thick layer of tomato sauce over the dough and top with thin slices of onion. Top with a few mushroom slices and a scatter of sweetcorn before adding a generous layer of sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake until golden and melted. (See above for photo)