Easy Pizza with No-Cook Topping
Makes 2 pizzas, Serving 4
Time: about 2 hours



For the dough:

350 g bread flour*

25 g semolina** plus extra for baking sheets

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

7 g/1 scant tablespoon instant yeast (NOT active dry yeast)

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for baking sheets

275 ml tepid water



For the topping:

400g tin of plum tomatoes

2 garlic gloves, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste)

300 g mozarella, drained and shredded or sliced

Basil leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste



In a bowl, mix flour, semolina, salt and yeast. Make a hole in the middle, pour in oil, water, then stir and squeeze everything together with your hands. The dough should feel very sticky. When it is well mixed, cover with a towel and leave for 15 mins.



Tip the dough on to a lightly oiled work surface and rub your hands and the inside of the bowl with a little oil. Knead the dough about 12 times only, giving it a quarter turn each time you knead. Tuck the ends under so it is the shape of a ball and lay it in the bowl, seam side down. Cover and leave for 10 mins. Repeat the kneading and leaving for 10 mins again, then knead and leave for 15 mins, oiling the surface and your hands.



In between kneadings make the sauce for the topping. Drain a 400g tin of tomatoes and snip them into small pieces with scissors. Stir in garlic, tomato purée, and seasoning. Set aside. Brush a baking sheet with oil and sprinkle with a little semolina. Heat oven to 240C/gas 9. (It's best if your oven is as hot as possible to get a crispy crust).



When the dough is ready, cut in half and put one half onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 4-5 times to squash out any air bubbles, then roll it out with a rolling pin. At the point where it just keeps springing back, brush off the flour from the work surface and rub on a little oil. This makes it easier to roll. Continue to roll out until you have a 28cm circle, pulling it into shape as well. Lift it onto the baking sheet (it's easier if you drape it over a rolling pin).



Brush the dough with olive oil, then spread half the sauce over (I like the sauce in a really thin layer), almost up to the edge. Scatter over half the basil, then sprinkle half the mozzarella over and scatter over the basil. Grate over pepper and drizzle with a little oil. Bake for 12-15 mins, keeping a close eye on it, until the topping is bubbling and the dough is starting to turn golden brown. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings. Let it sit for a couple of minutes after you take it out of the oven so it can set before serving.



* You can use all-purpose flour for this as well, but the dough will be lighter. Spring Valley Market on Lower Kabete Rd will order bread flour for you from Pembe Flour Mills.

** Semolina is available at Flavio's Italian Market, behind Valley Arcade in Hurlingham, or Alimentari on James Gichuru Rd.