Easy Thin-Base Pizza

Like most people, I have bought many different pizzas from frozen to fresh, thin base to stuffed crust. But this, to me, is by far the nicest and has proved a hit over and over. It works out so economical that I can safely say
I'll never buy a pizza again!

Ingredients

300ml skimmed milk

7g sachet of dried yeast

500g strong white flour

Pinch of salt

Olive oil

Pasta sauce – home-made or shop-bought

Cheese of your choice

Toppings of your choice

Method

• Heat the milk gently until lukewarm in a saucepan or in a heatproof bowl in the microwave, add the yeast and stir until dissolved.

• Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in middle and add the milk with the dissolved yeast.

• Mix together using a spoon – the mixture should be quite sticky.

• Empty out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 10 minutes. Add a little oil into a large clean bowl and coat the sides of the bowl with it. Put the dough into the bowl and cover with cling film for 20–30 minutes to prove (rise).

• Punch out the air and use it right away or wrap it in cling film and keep it in the fridge.

• Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature (usually around 250ºC). Pull off a ball of dough smaller than a tennis ball and roll it out as thinly as possible, don’t worry about perfect circles.

• Pop it onto an oiled pizza tray and lightly spoon on some pasta sauce, grate over some cheese of your choice (I just use low-fat cheddar), and add the toppings of your choice. 15–20 minutes in a HOT oven will make a lovely crispy pizza.

• Leftover dough will keep in the fridge for a few days or can be frozen in individual portions.