COURGETTE BIANCA

Scott Deley, of Scott’s Pizza Project, attended the Matthews Cotswold Flour day and served some of his award-winning pizzas to the guests. Scott has a massive online following and is about to publish his first book, The Ooni Pizza Project.

Makes three 11” pizzas...

Dough (63% Hydration)

498g Matthews Cotswold “00” flour 314g water

12g salt

0.26g instant dried yeast

Toppings

Mozzarella, ricotta, courgette, lemon zest, fresh mint (finely chopped), chilli flakes

■ Method

■ Place flour and yeast in mixing bowl and gradually add 95% of the water until it has all come together and formed a rough looking ball. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes. Next, add the salt with a splash of water and gradually add the remaining 5% of water and mix for about 7-9 minutes until the dough is smooth. The dough should be 21-23°C. Form into a ball and cover to let the dough rest for a further 15 minutes.

■ Next, fold it over a few times before shaping back into a ball. This will increase tension in the dough. Transfer to an airtight container and let dough ferment at room temperature for 18 hours. It should rise considerably. Divide into three equal sized portions and form into tight balls. Transfer the dough balls into oiled containers for 4-6 hours at room temperature, after which fire up your pizza oven aiming for a stone temperature of 430-450°C.

■ While your pizza oven is heating up, use a vegetable peeler to cut courgettes into thin ribbons.

■ Tip out a dough ball onto a floured worktop. From the centre, push out to form a one-inch crust rotating regularly to maintain the circular shape. Pick the dough up and hang it upright over both sets of your knuckles and begin to rotate the dough through your hands, allowing gravity to stretch it out.

■ Once the dough is evenly stretched to about 11 inches, place back down onto a floured pizza peel.

■ Add the fresh mozzarella, ricotta and courgette ribbons, before a final drizzle of olive oil. Launch the prepared pizza into your oven and cook for 60-90 seconds, turning regularly.