Easy Homemade Pizza Base

This easy pizza dough is a great recipe for beginners  and produces a soft homemade pizza crust. Skip the pizza delivery because it's only 4 easy steps from start to finish.

This is my go-to pizza dough recipe and has been using the recipe for the millionth time, I decided that it's time to add in my blog!

Pizza dough is the foundation and every great pizza begins with a great pizza crust. Some like thin and crisp pizza crust, while others prefer thick and soft pizza crust. This homemade pizza crust has it all; soft and chewy with delicious crisp and AWESOME flavour. Let get cooking with my simple step-by-step guide. Bellissimo!

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 300g strong bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml warm water

For the tomato sauce:

• 100ml passata
• handful of fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• ½ tsp Italian mix herbs

For the topping: 

• any topping of your choice

Method:

To make the base-Put the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and olive oil and bring together with a spatula until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured worktop and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Cover with tea tower and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it is not essential for a thin crust.

Make the sauce-Mix the passata, basil, crush garlic and the Italian herbs together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the pizza base.

Roll out the dough, then split it into two balls. Give each balls a quick knead if you let the dough rise. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rounds, about 25cm across using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two pizza pan.

Top and bake-Heat the oven to 240ºC/220ºC for fan assist oven. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter with your favourite topping. Drizzle with some olive oil and season. Put the pizza in the oven and bake for 8-10  minutes until crisp. Serve with a little more olive oil and basil leaves if using.

Notes:

1. If the dough is too wet, add a bit more flour and work it in.
2. If the dough is too stretchy to roll out, leave it to rest for 10 minutes or so, then try again
3. If the base isn't cook, it could be too thick or have too much topping. If the topping is cooked before the base cover with foil and give it another 5 minutes
4. If you are making a vegan pizza then the topping is your vegan choice