Ah, I see the weekend on the horizon! We love Fridays around here. The end of the work week, no homework to worry about and a chance to kick back and engage relaxation mode. Friday nights are often movie night around here, and this pizza is regularly requested by the kids. As tempting as it is to rather pick up the phone and order in (and don’t get me wrong, we do that too!) this pizza is worth making from scratch and actually doesn’t require too much effort in terms of hands on cooking. It’s super delicious – perfect movie night food!
The beauty of these of course is that everyone can customise their own pizza. We usually make sure that everyone has their favorite included in the mix, then we slice it all up and share. Miss M. has her favorite salami and mushroom combo while young J simply has to have fresh pineapple chunks on his.
The easy pizza sauce made with simply pantry ingredients has the tastiest flavor and can be made in advance to save time. Don’t forget to let it cool before you use it.
Happy pizza making (and eating!).
MOVIE NIGHT PIZZAS
- Servings: Makes 6 x 18cm pizzas
For the pizza dough:
- 350g white bread flour
- 2.5ml (½ tsp) fine salt
- 10g instant yeast
- 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 225-250ml warm water
- extra olive oil, for greasing
- extra flour, for dusting
For the pizza sauce:
- 5ml (1 tsp) olive oil
- 5ml (1 tsp) crushed garlic
- 400g tin of diced tomatoes
- 410g tin of tomato and onion mix
- 5ml (1 tsp) dried mixed herbs
- 1.25ml (¼ tsp) salt
- freshly ground black pepper
To assemble:
- 100g grated cheddar cheese
- 150g grated mozzarella cheese
- your favorite pizza toppings
- dried mixed herbs, to sprinkle
1.) Start by making the pizza dough. Place the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a freestanding mixer and combine. Add the olive oil and most of the warm water. Mix to form a dough, adding a little more water if the dough is dry. Knead the dough until it’s stretchy, it will be a bit sticky. Lightly brush the mixing bowl with some olive oil and place the dough back inside. Cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to rise and double in size.
2.) While the dough is rising prepare the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato and onion mix, mixed herbs, salt and pepper. Stir, then allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Check the seasoning then set aside to cool.
3.) Preheat the oven to 200ºC with two large baking trays in the oven. Lightly dust the work surface with some flour. Take half the dough and roll out thinly (about 4mm thickness). Use a 18cm side plate (or thereabouts) to cut out circles. Gather the scraps and add them to the leftover dough. Roll the remaining dough and cut out more circles. You should be able to get six circles out of the dough.
4.) Have your grated cheese and toppings set out and ready to use. Take the preheated baking trays out of the oven and grease lightly. Arrange the pizza bases on the trays and spread the cooled pizza sauce over them. Add the grated cheeses, your favorite toppings and a sprinkling of mixed herbs.
5.) Bake the pizzas for 20-25 minutes (keep an eye on them towards the end) until the bases are golden and cooked through. Slice and serve hot.
