Every great story has a great foundation… In this story, we discover the foundation of the “Pizza”. A must-have for any great pizza is a great pizza dough (aka the crust)

Europeans like the thin and crisp pizza crust, while across the pond, in Australia we prefer thick and soft pizza crust.

True to my heritage my homemade pizza crust has it all… it is thick(ish), it’s soft, fluffy, and chewy with a delicious crunch and, if I must say so myself, tastes great.

Here is how we make it…

What you need:

• 500 gr white bread flour (Tipo ’00’ flour,
• 100g finely ground semolina flour (optional – for colour and flavour)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 dried yeast sachet (7gr or 9gr)
• 2 tsp golden caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

What you do:

1. Clean and prepare your workspace
2. Sieve the flours (white and semolina) and salt on your work surface and make a well in the middle.
3. In a bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, and olive oil into 300ml of lukewarm water
4. Leave for 5 minutes, then gradually pour into the well.
5. Bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. You can use a fork to do this.
6. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour into the well, and when it all starts to come together, dust your hands with flour and work the rest of the flour in.
7. Knead until you have a smooth dough
8. Dust a large bowl with flour and place the ball of dough in the bowl. Put some flour on top and cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling film
9. Leave in a warm room or for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
10. Once it is ready place it onto the flour-dusted surface and knead it to push the air out with your hands (aka knocking back the dough)
11. You can either use it immediately or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until you are ready to use it.
12. This amount of dough is enough for four medium pizzas. You can divide the dough up into four medium or 8 small pieces (it is completely up to you)
13. A Few tips on timing would be to cook them within 20 minutes of rolling them out and not leave them around if you are working in advance like this it’s better to leave your dough, covered with clingfilm, in the fridge.

Place any topping you like and cook in a 220 degree oven for about 15 minutes…

Next: The best pizza sauce