Pesto Pizza

PIZZA WITH BABY TOMATOES AND BASIL PESTO
This is a wonderfully simple and light, yet tasty pizza that your whole family can enjoy. Perfect for casual weekends or Meatless Mondays. Make sure you use a good quality pesto for the topping.
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
1kg White flour
4 Tbs olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1 Tbs castor sugar
600ml Luke warm water
14g Dry yeast
Topping:
350ml Tomato puree
280g Baby tomatoes, sliced in half
450g Mozzarella cheese, grated
130g Basil pesto
METHOD
- Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl.
- Add the yeast, castor sugar, salt and olive oil to the water and stir until it is all mixed in.
- Set your mixer to a low speed and use a dough hook.
- Slowly add the mixture to the flour until it is all in and let the mixer continue until the flour and mixture are all mixed in.
- Dust the counter with a liberal amount of flour and then empty your dough onto the counter.
- Knead the dough until it is soft and springy to touch.
- Roll your dough into a ball and leave it to stand for 1 hour.
- Knead the dough for a minute or two.
- Cut a quarter of the dough off and using a rolling pin, shape your base.
- Place the base on a tray. (I use a normal baking tray for a rectangular shaped pizza)
- Cover the base with the tomato puree.
- Cover the base thoroughly with the Mozarella cheese.
- Scatter the halved baby tomatoes all over the base and then place in the oven on 180°C and bake for around 25minutes.
- Once ready, remove from the oven and dot the basil pesto over the pizza.
- Slice and serve.
Serves 4, allowing for 2 large slices each
- NOTE: The remaining dough can be sealed in cling-film and frozen until your next pizza night, or it works really well simply baked as a loaf of bread.