How can I make a pizza as nice as Pizza Express?

[tracyk]

How can I make a nice base that won't be the texture of biscuit!
How hot do I need to have the oven to get it done nicely?

I cheat and buy the bases from Sainsburys and the tomato topping!!

Are they as nice as PE? I had a Tesco base last night and the crust was as dry and crunchy like a biscuit.

The best way is to make your own dough and cook them in the oven on a pizza stone ...
I haven't done it but my friend does ... she uses the Jamie Oliver bread/pizza dough recipe ...
Seems a bit of a faff to me but when she has made them for us they are lovely ...
HTH ...

Well - it was the Jamie Oliver recipe I was going to use - but he has yeast in it - but if I want thin base - will yeast not make it rise??

Well now you mention it they are abit like that, but that is how I like them.

Give it a go and see ... I think that it depends on how thick roll it out ...

Thanks - will try my hand at it this week.

can you put his recipe on so I can give it a bash?? ta

I'm not a pizza fan but PE ones are really the bees knees...

my pizza express pizza in the freezer lists yeast as one of the ingredients. I couldn't imagine a dough without yeast - it would be too heavy whilst you want it light. Just roll it very thin.

The secret to a thin but not crispy base is to roll it out thinly and cook it on a pizza tray (the round ones with holes in). If you roll it out pretty thin then it won't be all stodgy. I tend to make up a batch of dough and leave it to rise a bit in the Kenwood bowl, then knock it back and roll out the bases. The base is then light and fluffy because you have let it rise a bit.

Also I don't pre-cook the bases, just roll out and put your toppings on. The base won't rise much. One 2lb mix of dough will make about 4 12" bases.

Tomato base (for anyone not using Jamie Oliver) - I use a can of tinned tomatoes, about half a tube of tomato puree, a small onion, a scattering of herbs (I tend to put basil and oregano in, or you can buy pizza herbs), some black pepper, and a clove of garlic. Give it a whizz in the blender and hey presto. It will keep in the fridge for a few days too and you can use any left over with pasta for another meal.

I cook them in the oven, as hot as it will go, for about 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling on the top.

Hope this helps!

We use those things you buy will chilli con carne and passata and then grated cheese and what you fancy on top. The kids can do it and you get to clean up instead of cooking.

anyone with a decent pizza dough recipe?

I just use a normal bread dough recipe. Hold on and I'll find it for you.

c&p from a previous post:

1lb 8 oz white bread flour
15 fl oz water (1 part boiling, 2 parts cold)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 sachet dried easybake yeast (allinsons)
2 tablespoons olive oil

The whole recipe/method (for making bread) I posted on here

I cheap with the base and get the napolian ones 4 mini ones for 88p in tesco - they're lovely. not quite PE but DH recons better than the chicago town/goodfellas pizzas.

Check out the threads pizza bases (14th Nov) and pizza base sauce (20 Nov).
I use the pizza base recipe from that and its excellent.

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Thanks girls - Jamie Oliver suggests using part flour, part semolina flour for authenticity. May try that too.

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you can't!

buy the pizze express pizzas and dough balls from sainsburys!!!!

I do sometimes - when they are reduced - but we could eat them everynight - and at £5 odd they are bit £££.

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