The summer holidays are upon us and, rather predictably, the weather hasn’t quite lived up to our sunny expectations! It can be difficult thinking of low cost activities to keep children entertained when at home. In this weeks blog we provide you with a super simple pizza recipe for you to have fun and create with your children. *Warning! Things may get messy but that’s all part of the fun!* So pull out your aprons, roll up your sleeves and lets get cooking!
Ingredients (to make 2 pizza’s for 4-6 people)
For the base
300g of bread flour
1 tsp of instant yeast
1 tbs of olive oil
For the tomato sauce
100ml passata
Either handful of fresh basil or 1tsp of dried
1 garlic clove
A little black pepper to taste
The topping
125g ball of mozzarella, preferably low fat
A little grated parmesan or cheddar cheese
A handful of cherry tomatoes – chopped in half
Tip – get your children to pick their own toppings such as bell peppers, onion, sweetcorn, mushrooms, spinach, tuna, chicken, tofu, etc
Pre heat your oven to 240c/fan or 220c/ gas 8.
Step 1 – making the base
Measure out your flour and sift into a large bowl. Now stir in the yeast. Add 200ml of warm water and the olive oil to the flour and mix together with a wooden spoon. You should be left with a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn out onto a clean, lightly floured, surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is a smooth texture. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a tea towel and set to the side. As you are making a thin crust pizza you do not need to leave the dough to rise.
Step 2 – Making the sauce
Crush the garlic clove in a garlic crusher or chop very finely and put in a bowl. Add in the passata, basil and a littler black pepper to taste. Cover the sauce and set aside (it doesn’t need to go in the fridge).
Step 3 – rolling out the dough
Split your ball of dough into two equal sized balls. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out into circles using a rolling pin. Aim for the bases to be about 25cm across so that the dough is rolled very thin (remember it will rise in the oven). Carefully lift each of the dough bases onto floured baking or pizza trays.
Step 4 – adding the pizza toppings
Smooth half the tomato sauce over each pizza base. Tip: try using the back of a spoon or a ladle to help spread it evenly across the base. Firstly add the cheese to the base, followed by the toppings of your choosing. Encourage you children to create a colourful pizza by choosing different coloured vegetables. Extra points awarded for creating funny pizza faces!
Step 5 – Cook your pizza
Check your oven has got to temperature. Carefully put each pizza in the oven. Cook them for around 8-10 minutes or until they look crisp. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to carefully cut the pizza into 8 slices.
Serve with a mixed salad and enjoy
Don’t forget to share your pizza creations with us on