Justin Woods, head chef at The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, and Greenhouse restaurant.

Question:

I tried making my own pizza but it was a bit doughy, even though I followed instructions. Help!

Audrey Applethwaite, Morecambe

 

Justin says...

I must be honest – I’ve enlisted the help of my fellow Essex boy, Jamie Oliver for help with this one – he makes a pretty good pizza. Use good quality Italian Tipo or ‘00’ flour – it’s a finer grade than normal flour but will give you a super smooth dough. Sieve 1kg of flour with 1 tsp fine sea salt. Mix 650ml luke warm water with two 7g sachets of yeast, 1 tbsp caster sugar and 4 tbsp good quality olive oil. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes. Make a well in the flour, add the yeast/water mix, then gently start mixing some flour through the liquid, continue mixing from the centre, incorporating more flour each time. When it all starts to come together, knead the dough until it is smooth and springy. Place in a large, floured bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for about an hour. Remove your dough, then knead again to remove some air. You can then use straight away or cling film and fridge/freeze it. When you come to make your pizza, roll the dough out about 20 minutes before you need it, don’t put too much topping on and cook your pizzas at 250C on a preheated pizza stone if you have one.