Basic pizza dough

The pizza bases are prebaked then covered with various toppings. The pizzas aren’t baked again.

Makes 4 to 6 pizza bases
Preparation time: 20 min
Resting time: 1 hour
Baking time: 10 min

650 g (1 160 ml; 42⁄3 c) self-raising flour
220 ml plain yoghurt
1 packet (10 g) instant yeast
5 ml (1 t) poppy seeds
pinch of salt
semolina for rolling out the dough
tomato purée

Step 1
Place all the ingredients except the semolina and tomato purée in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the dough attach­ment mix for about 5 minutes until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed at 1-minute intervals while mixing.
By hand Place the dry ingredients in a heap on a wooden board, make a hollow in the middle and pour the yoghurt into it. Lightly mix the dry ingredients with the yoghurt until well mixed. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your hands. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to rest in a warm spot for about an hour.

Step 2
Divide the dough into 4 to 6 balls, depending on the size of the pizza bases required.

Step 3
Place a ball of dough on a wooden or marble surface (marble is better because the dough won’t stick as much) and flatten the ball with your hands. Sprinkle semo­lina on the surface, especially if the dough is moist (semo­lina absorbs surplus moisture and makes working with the dough easier).

Step 4
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough as thinly as possible (I prefer a very thin crust but you can make it as thick as you like).

Step 5
Preheat the oven to its highest temperature (270 °C) and switch on the grill. Place the bases on a thick marble slab (at least 2 cm thick because any thinner would crack in the oven). Bake the bases in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes until the tops are par­tially golden brown. Turn the bases over and bake for another 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.
The bases must be slightly soft in the middle and crisp on the edges.

Step 6
Remove the marble slab and bases from the oven and place on a wooden board. Spread the bases thinly with tomato purée. Sprinkle with your choice of topping. Note I prefer using Italian tomato purée for the pizzas.