Pizza Dough
Makes 1 pizza base (adapted from Baker Bleu's sourdough) approx. 500g. For the pizza dough, we use an enriched dough using Mount Zero Arbequina EVOO.
1. Sieve the flour and salt onto a clean work surface and make a well in the middle.
2. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and oil into the lukewarm water. Leave for a few minutes, then pour slowly into the well.
3. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your flour-dusted hands. Knead the dough until you have a smooth and springy dough.
4. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and sprinkle flour on the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm place for around an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Once your dough has risen, remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands – this is called knocking back the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required.
Shaping
With our pizza we prefer a rectangle opposed to a circle. This is good for home as most baking trays are rectangular and makes things less fiddly.
1. Pre-heat your oven to its highest setting 30 minutes before you are ready to load the pizza in the oven.If you have a cast iron roasting tray or pizza stone, use this. Preheat the iron cast tray or pizza stone in the oven.
2. When your dough is nice and relaxed, sprinkle semolina on the bench, placing your dough down onto the semolina. Flour the dough and with your fingertips start making indentations into the centre of the dough. Work back and forth in an effort to create a longer piece of dough than round. Alternate from each end. Create length by picking up on each end and dangling the dough, letting gravity do the work! Then rest the dough for 15 minutes. You should have a deflated centre and a puffy ring of dough. Repeat the above process stretching the dough from the centre out, trying to retain that puffy ring of dough. This will create your beautiful crust.
3. Transfer the dough to a wooden board. If you're using a home oven, to reduce the risk from heat burn we recommend using a piece of clean cardboard about 5mm thick. Apply semolina to the cardboard before you transfer your base. Stretch the dough all the way to the edge of the cardboard.
Topping
1. Make the garlic cream by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Apply about 120ml of garlic cream to the base. Spread evenly across with a spatula. Store the remaining garlic cream in the fridge to use for your next pizza.
2. Spread the cheeses evenly across the pizza. Season with white pepper and a sprinkle of Mount Zero Pink Lake salt.
3. Now, tear up your roasted sweet potato and Mount Zero Manzanilla olives. Evenly place the sweet potato onto the base, almost in a grid. Place a chunk of olive near every piece of sweet potato so they complement each other with every mouthful.
4. Sprinkle with roughly torn rosemary. Season again with white pepper and Mount Zero Pink Lake salt and finish off with a drizzle with Mount Zero Arbequina EVOO.
4. Gently transfer to the cast iron tray that’s pre-heated in the oven. It should be raging hot. Transfer carefully!
5. Bake at maximum heat for 15 minutes. If the crust is thin in the centre, the colour on the outside crust should tell you when it’s done.
6. Once out of the oven lightly crumble the feta in your hands and toss evenly onto your pizza! Enjoy!
