Spicendipity: Recipes for Irish Artisan Spice Mixes, Sauces and Baking Mixes

Home made pizza is really a very simple meal. It is something that can be customised to anyone’s taste buds and as such is a real crowd pleaser. This particular dough recipe is really simple and very tasty. Don’t let a fear of working with yeast put you off. Pizza dough is extremely forgiving and will survive no matter what you do to it. The only issue you may have if the risings don’t go well, is a slightly longer cooking time.

Note on measurements: 1 cup is equal to eight fluid ounces.  It is NOT a weight measure, but a volume measure.  If you have a set of cup measures, be sure they are eight fluid ounces and not ten.  A pyrex jug or plastic measuring jug works fine for cup measurements too.  The only time the weight and fluid ounces match is with butter.  Eight ounces of butter just happens to be a cup of butter.

• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water (hot, but comfortable to touch)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil (Use garlic infused for extra flavour)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Add the water and honey to the yeast and allow to sit for a few minutes until foamy. Add olive oil and salt. Add flour one cup at a time until combined. Knead for about ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, using flour to dust as necessary. Allow to rise in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap for about 45 minutes or until doubled. Punch down the dough and allow to rise an additional hour.

Divide the dough into three parts. You can freeze what you would like at this point. To use in the future, remove dough from bag whilst still frozen. Place in a greased bowl and allow to defrost and come to room temperature before rolling.
Roll and pull out the dough into a flat circle and prick with a fork. Rub it with a little more olive oil, which prevents the sauce from making it soggy. Sprinkle some cornmeal or semolina on a pizza stone and place the dough on to it.

Spread your sauce on the pizza. I just use a few tablespoons of passata mixed with about half a teaspoon of my Italian Seasoning or to taste.

Slice some buffalo mozzarella into thin slices and lay on top of the sauce. Don’t worry if there are spaces, as the cheese melts they fill in. Add whatever toppings you like.

Bake for ten to fifteen minutes at your ovens highest heat.

This is a lovely summery pizza that utilises our Two Brew BBQ Sauce instead of the more traditional tomato sauce. It gives it a nice zing and just a hint of spice. Use the pizza dough recipe here, which is a fool-proof and delicious dough, or use a store bought crust.  If you’ve never worked with yeast dough before, pizza is a great way to start, as it is very forgiving and will hold up well even if you’re too impatient to wait two full rises.  The dough can also be made into ciabatta or foccacia bread.  It’s very versatile.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 quantity pizza dough or large store bought crust
• 1/3 bottle Two Brew BBQ Sauce
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced
• Handful bacon lardons or cooked chicken
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 ball mozzarella cheese
• large handful cheddar cheese
• coriander/cilantro to garnish (optional)

Pre-heat your oven to it’s highest setting for the dough, or follow the instructions on the package if using the store-bought crust.

Roll out the dough and place on a pizza stone or baking sheet.  Prick the dough all over with a fork (not necessary for store crust.)  Spoon the BBQ sauce on the dough, spreading it evenly in a thin layer, leaving space at the edges for the crust.

Thinly slice the mozzarella and spread over the pizza.  Add the onions, peppers and meat.  Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake for ten to fifteen minutes, or as required for store crust.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with some fresh chopped coriander for an extra kick.