Pizza is a family favourite and the variety of toppings is only limited by one’s imagination.
Ingredients
Pizza dough for bases:
500g (1 lb 2 oz) ‘OO’ flour
15g dried yeast, 2 sachets
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
300ml (10 fl oz) tepid water
Tomato sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 x 400g can of good quality chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
Topping:
200g (7 oz) washed young spinach leaves
25g (1 oz) butter
Salt and black pepper
Grating of nutmeg
3 balls of mozzarella cheese, sliced
Black olives, sliced - optional
Method
1. Firstly make the pizza dough by placing the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and mixing together, then make a well in the centre. Add the oil and most of the tepid water and mix well adding the remaining water as required - different flours and how they are stored means they may differ slightly on the amount of water. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth – use a stand mixer with the dough hook or by hand. Cover the bowl with cling film and place next to the AGA to rise for an hour.
2. Meanwhile make the tomato sauce by heating the oil in a saucepan. Gently fry the onion and garlic on the simmering plate until soft but not coloured. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée and sugar. Stir and bring to the boil on the boiling plate, boil for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture has thickened to a spreadable consistency, cool and season.
3. Melt the butter in a pan with the salt and black pepper, then add the spinach leaves. Cover with a lid and cook on the simmering plate for about 4 minutes, drain well then season with a little grated nutmeg.
4. Take the dough from the bowl and divide into three pieces. Knead each piece into a ball then roll out into a circle about 25cm (10 inches) in diameter, place onto a circle of Bake-O-Glide. Brush the surface of the dough with a little olive oil.
5. Leave to rise for 15 minutes then spread with the tomato sauce, (any sauce left-over can be frozen) arrange the drained spinach, mozzarella cheese slices and black olives (if used) over the top.
6. Cook direct on the floor of the roasting oven for 10-12 minutes, until crisp and cooked through. If you have an AGA eR3, eR7, R3 or AGA 60 we would recommend using the floor grid. Serve with salad.
Conventional cooking: Cook the sauce and spinach on the hob. Bake at 220ºC (425ºF), fan oven 200ºC, Gas Mark 7 on a Bake-O-Glide lined baking tray in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes.
