Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Easy homemade pizza dough recipePizza makes a semi regular appearance in our household, however it doesn’t come delivered in boxes or wrapped in plastic from the supermarket. The only pizza we regularly consume is our very own homemade variety. The need for a good pizza dough recipe arose not out of a wish to be healthy but because ever since visiting Italy many years ago I’ve loved super thin pizzas covered with fresh and appetising toppings. I really don’t enjoy greasy pizzas and I certainly doubt they offer much in nutritional value for my kids. With that in mind my husband and I tinkered about and came up with this easy homemade pizza dough recipe. It makes 4 thin pizzas, but if you prefer a deeper crust you could just make 2.

Ingredients

500g Strong white flour (bread flour works well, or a combo of plain and bread flour)

2Tsp Salt

14g Dried yeast (normally this is 2 small packets worth)

2Tsp Olive oil

300ml Warm water

Method

Pop all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and gradually mix in the water (I use a stand mixer with dough hook attachment to do this).

Once mixed knead the dough for about 4 mins if using a stand mixer or 10 minutes by hand (on a floured surface).

Cover mixing bowl with cling film and pop dough in a warm place to rise (I use the airing cupboard) for about 45mins – 1hour until doubled in size (see pics).

Divide dough into 4 pieces and stretch or roll to fit your baking trays. Cover with tomatoes (or passata) and whatever toppings you fancy. I really enjoy the simplicity of cheese and tomato with just a sprinkle of basil.

Bake in a preheated oven about 175C for approximately 8 mins until golden.

Note. Obviously if you choose to make 2 deeper crusted pizzas these will take longer to cook.

 

 

Ten Tips for the Christmas Cheeseboard

I love cheese at the best of times but at Christmas it’s a must have! Judging by the popularity of the current competition to win a Vintage Organic Cheddar round from Godminster I think it’s safe to say that most of you love cheese too, so you’ll love this Guest Post from cheese expert Juliet Harbutt and Port Salut.Christmas Cheeseboard-(low-res)

Ten Tips for the Christmas Cheeseboard

End your Christmas dinner in style this festive season and earn yourself a reputation for creating a truly memorable cheeseboard with the help of Port Salut and cheese expert Juliet Harbutt. Here are her top ten tips for pulling together a show-stopping centre piece this Christmas:

• A slate or marble cheeseboard is great for creating a lasting impression

• Avoid dressing with grapes and instead decorate your cheeseboard with a few autumnal leaves or sprigs of holly for a festive feel

• Ideally a cheeseboard should have 5 – 10 magnificent cheeses, preferably at least one from each of the seven categories and at least one goat or ewe

• Offer a range of shapes – logs, wedges, cylinders, squares – and cut blocks of cheese into different shapes for an attractive finish

• Order your Stilton weeks in advance, as you would a turkey and ideally buy cheeses you have tasted and had cut at the deli from the original cheese. Buy your soft pre-packed cheeses as near to their best before date as possible for the best taste

• Before serving ensure all the cheeses have come to room temperature – a slither will take 5 minutes and whole Brie will take at least an hour so best to serve similar sized portions

• Avoid very brittle or strong flavoured biscuits as they can overpower the cheese; instead serve with oat cakes or rustic breads that allow you to experience the full texture and tastes of the cheese

• The accompaniments should complement not over power your cheeses, so try pickled walnuts, savoury (not over sweet) or spicy chutney, nuts, dried fruit or fresh apples or pears

• As well as wine, beer & cider also go very well with most types of cheese so encourage guests to have fun experimenting with their pairings

• Ideally store your cheese in a larder otherwise keep them refrigerated in a sealed plastic box, wrapped in their original wrapping or greaseproof paper

For more helpful tips: 

Visit the Port Salut website at www.portsalut.co.uk for Juliet’s downloadable cheese guide, listing all her cheese recommendations for the perfect Christmas board.

Win a Godminster 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar Round!

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

A few weeks ago I attended the Country Living Christmas Fair in London and among my favourite stalls was Godminster who sold the most delicious organic cheeses. They would make the perfect addition to your festive table and now you can be in with a chance to win your very own 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar round!

Godminster is well known for its delicious range of organic cheeses including a vintage organic waxed cheddar, oak-smoked vintage organic cheddar and a range of bries made with milk from the Godminster Farm. Godminster also makes refreshing infused vodkas, including horseradish, blackcurrant and elderflower. Chunky beetroot and apple chutney and two new varieties of crackers, rosemary water biscuits and an oat rich digestive complement the range.

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

The Prize

Godminster have offered readers of the Angel Eden Blog the chance to win one of their fabulous 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar Rounds.

A round delicious, creamy vintage organic cheddar in Godminster’s distinctive burgundy wax, packaged in an attractive gift box.

Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar

Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar

How to Store The Cheddar

‘Our cheddar is organic, containing no preservatives, so we recommend refrigeration at all times at 5°C.  Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to allow the cheese to warm to room temperature and bring out the flavour.

No need to remove the wax. In fact, we find our cheese keeps its creamy consistency best, if you keep it in the wax. The cheese can be scooped or sliced. Either score around the top and use it as a lid, scooping the cheese out, or cut through the wax like you would a cake. If there’s any left replace the lid, wrap the whole cheese in cling film and refrigerate.’

How To Enter

Entering couldn’t be simpler, just pop over to the Angel Eden Blog Facebook page and hit ‘like’ then either click the widget below or the ‘Cheese Competition’ tab on the Facebook page to register your entry.

For extra entries either:

  • Leave a comment on this post (comments will be checked so make sure to leave one)
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet about the competition

The competition will end at midnight on 7th December 2013 (UK residents only please).

Make sure you leave me a way to contact you should you win :)  Good Luck!

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