DELICATE FLAVOURS AND PRETTY GARNISHES MAKE THIS PIZZA EXTRA SPECIAL

PERFECT DOUGH

It’s also possible to cold-prove your pizza dough, a technique that allows the yeast to work on the sugars in the flour for longer, thus giving the dough a deeper flavour. To do this, use half the amount of yeast listed in the classic pizza dough recipe, and leave the dough to rise in the fridge for 24-72hr. Divide the dough and cover it as described in step 4, then set aside (not in the fridge) for at least 5hr, until it is up to room temperature. When shaping your pizza, always start with a perfectly rounded ball of pizza dough. This helps to keep the rounded shape of the pizza base during the stretching process. Put the ball on a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and use your fingertips to press the dough into a small, flat disc. Working from the centre, push the dough outwards while spreading your fingers, making the disc slightly bigger. Pick up the pizza dough and gently pinch it all around the edge, allowing gravity to pull it downwards into a 30cm circle. Neapolitan-style pizza bases are very thin, so you should be able to see through the base when you hold it up to the light, but take care not to tear it.