The best pizzas require the best bases

Makes 4x28cm pizza bases or 8 individual pizzas 

Ingredients

• 375ml warm water 
• 1 tsp caster sugar 
• 8g yeast (or 1 sachet) 
• 600g 'OO' Flour 
• Pinch of flaky sea salt 
• 30ml extra virgin olive oil 

00' flour will give you the best results for Pizza dough. It makes
the dough so much easier to roll and stretch out, enabling a much
thinner crust. The dough can also be mixed in an electric mixer
fitted with a dough hook, mixing for about 6 minutes. When cooking
pizza you want to cook them as hot and fast as possible. This will vary
depending on your oven. A deck oven at the hottest temperature takes
about 8 minutes, whereas a wood fired oven may take only a minute. 

Instructions

1. Sieve the flour and salt together onto a bench and make
   a well in the centre. Pour in the water. Mix until you have a soft
   ball of dough (add more flour or water as necessary). Knead the
   dough by hand for 12 minutes until smooth and bouncy.
2. Lightly oil a bowl and roll the dough around in this until it is
   coated. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, tea towel or a plastic bag
   and leave to rise in a warm, draught free place for 1.5 hours.
3. You can use the dough now, or for more flavour development,
   punch back, knead a few more times and leave to rise again for
   another 40 minutes.
4. Divide into 4 or 8 pieces.
5. Stretch and roll out the dough on a floured/semolina board,
   add toppings and bake until crisp and bubbling.