HOW TO MAKE PIZZA FROM SCRATCH RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. For the dough, pile the flours and 1 level teaspoon of sea salt onto a clean surface and make a well in the centre.
  2. Add the yeast and sugar to 650ml lukewarm water, mix together and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well.
  3. Using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water. Continue to mix, bringing in all the flour – when the dough comes together and becomes too hard to mix with your fork, flour your hands and begin to pat it into a ball.
  4. Knead the dough by rolling it backwards and forwards, using your hands to stretch, pull and push the dough. Keep kneading for 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
  5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to to prove for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  6. For the sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic, then pick the basil leaves and finely chop the stalks.
  7. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on a medium-low heat, add the garlic and basil stalks, then cook gently for a couple of minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden, then add most of the basil leaves, the tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  8. Leave the sauce to tick away for around 20 minutes, or until smooth, breaking up the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. When the time’s up, taste, and season to perfection.
  9. To assemble the pizzas, divide the dough in half. Wrap one half in clingfilm and freeze for another day. With the remaining half, divide the dough into 4 equal balls.
  10. Flour each dough ball, then cover with clingfilm, and leave to rest for about 15 minutes – this will make them easier to roll it thinly.
  11. Dust a clean surface and the dough with a little flour or semolina, and roll it out into a rough circle, about ½cm thick.
  12. Tear off an appropriately sized piece of tin foil, rub it with olive oil, dust well with flour or semolina and place the pizza base on top. Continue doing the same with the remaining dough, dust with a little flour so you can pile them up. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge.
  13. When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 250°C/500°F/gas 9.
  14. At this stage you can apply your topping: spread the tomato sauce over the base, spreading it out to the edges. Tear over the mozzarella and scatter with the remaining basil leaves. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
  15. If you can, cook the pizzas on a piece of granite in your conventional oven – if not, cook them one by one on pieces of tin foil directly on the bars of the oven shelf, towards the bottom of the oven (If you're going to cook your pizzas on the bars of the oven, make sure they're not too big – otherwise they'll be difficult to manoeuvre). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pizzas are golden and crispy.
  16. Here are some of my favourite topping ideas: Mozzarella, anchovies, chilli, capers and parsley Smoked pancetta, mozzarella, fresh chilli and tomatoes Egg, prosciutto, artichokes, olives, mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil Green and red grapes, rosemary, pine nuts and ricotta Potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes Slow-roasted shredded pork with thyme, Taleggio and lemon-dressed rocket

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes. Scrub 2 1/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes and place in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover the potatoes by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and simmer until the potatoes are knife tender and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size. Start heating a large frying pan over medium heat when the potatoes are almost ready.
• Drain and dry the potatoes. Drain the potatoes. Transfer to the hot pan and cook, turning them occasionally, until the skin and any exposed flesh is dry on all sides (do not let the skin brown), about 2 minutes.
• Let the potatoes cool slightly, then peel. Set the potatoes aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes while still warm.
• Make the gnocchi dough. Place 1 1/3 cups of the all-purpose or ‘00’ flour and 2 teaspoons kosher salt on a work surface. Process the potato flesh through a ricer or a fine-mesh strainer onto the flour. Work and knead the potatoes into the flour, adding in 1/3 cup more of the flour a little at a time, until a soft and pliable but not sticky ball of dough forms. If the dough is too sticky, knead in more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed.
• Roll the dough out into ropes. Dust the work surface with more flour and divide the dough into 8 portions. Working with one piece at a time, use your hands and roll it out from the center into a rope that is about 1/2-inch wide.
• Cut the ropes. Cut each rope crosswise into 1-inch pieces, then transfer them to a floured rimmed baking sheet.
• Form the gnocchi. Roll each piece out on a grooved surface (such as a gnocchi board), or gently roll along the back of the fork with your thumb. (Grooves help them trap in more sauce.) Return to the baking sheet.
• Boil the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add half the gnocchi and stir. Boil until they float to the surface and are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a serving platter. Repeat cooking the remaining gnocchi.
• Top with sauce and serve. Top with sauce if desired and serve immediately.