I made a batch of pizzette this week, little discs of dough barely the diameter of a side plate and topped them with roasted peppers, basil paste and curls of cured pork, and then more with marinated artichokes and crème fraîche, and baked them until the dough was crisp, dark and chewy. I brought them to the table on a wooden board and let everyone fight over their favourites.
Making the dough is about as easy as cooking gets, as is leaving it to rise at its own pace and knocking it into rounds. The tricky bit comes with baking. I turn my oven up high and place a pizza stone inside to get the nearest results I can to a traditional pizza oven.
My stone, once the colour of a village in the Cotswolds, now more like the inside of a chimney in the Potteries, has done many years’ service, crisping the bases of pizza, loaves and pastries alike. To be honest, it rarely leaves the oven. I’m not sure they are worth the investment for the once-a-year pizzafest but, if you bake regularly, a baking stone will soon earn its keep.
Dough
Makes 32
For the dough:
strong white flour 500g
fast-acting dried yeast 1 x 7g sachet
salt 1 lightly heaped tsp
water 350ml
I like to warm the mixing bowl before I start to make the dough. It is by no means essential, but I feel it gives the dough a head start.
Put the flour into a mixing bowl (or into the bowl of a food mixer) and add the dried yeast and salt. Pour in most of the water, mixing the ingredients together until you have smooth, slightly sticky dough, adding more as necessary. Then, using a food mixer fitted with a dough hook, or by hand if you prefer, knead the dough until soft and springy to the touch. Expect this to take 8-10 minutes by hand, 4-5 minutes if using a mixer with a hook.
Cover the dough in its bowl with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for about half an hour, until it has almost doubled in size. The dough will rise best if it is kept out of a draught.
While the dough rises, get on with the toppings.
A note on shaping the pizzette: when it has risen to almost twice its original volume, tear off pieces of the dough, each weighing no more than 25g. Place them on a generously floured work surface and press or roll into a rough disc about 15-17 cm in diameter. Place on an upturned baking sheet. Distribute the toppings below over them as the fancy takes you.
Roast peppers, guanciale and pesto pizzette
I ask the deli to slice the guanciale as thinly as possible, so it crisps and curls in the heat of the oven. Lardo will work, too, as will thinly sliced pancetta.
For 6 small pizzette
red or orange peppers 2, large
olive oil
mozzarella 150g
pesto (as below) 6 tbsp
guanciale, coppa or similar 10g per pizza
For the pesto:
basil leaves and stems 40g
pine kernels 45g
olive oil 125ml
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Place a baking stone in the oven. Halve the peppers and place them in a small roasting tin. Trickle a little olive oil over the peppers then roast for 40 minutes or until they have softened, their skins have blackened in patches and there are caramelised juices in the roasting tin. Remove the peppers from the oven and leave to cool a little. Peel the skins.
Discard the skins and place the peppers on a plate, trickling any roasting juices over them. Set aside.
Make the basil dressing by putting the basil leaves and their stems, lightly torn, into the jug of a blender or the bowl of a food processor. Add the pine kernels and process to a rough paste, pouring in the olive oil as you blend.
Tear the peppers and guanciale into pieces that will fit on to your dough, then place them on top. Tear the mozzarella into lumps and divide between the pizzette. Trickle over a little oil. Slide the little pizzas on to the hot baking stone and bake for about 7 minutes – 6 minutes will get you a golden pizzette, a further minute or two will achieve a deliciously crisp version. As soon as the pizzette are ready, spoon a little of the pesto over each one and eat immediately.
Mushroom and artichoke pizzette
Enough filling to make 6 small pizzette
dough (from above) 150g
small, ‘wild’ mushrooms 150g
olive oil 4 tbsp
thyme 4 sprigs
marinated artichokes 100g
crème fraîche 6 heaped tbsp
parmesan grated, a handful
Check the mushrooms for grit, brushing them clean where necessary. Pour the olive oil into a mixing bowl, add the mushrooms and thyme and toss thoroughly, then leave to marinate for 30 minutes. Slice the artichokes into thick pieces.
Turn the oven on and heat to 250C/gas mark 9 and place a baking stone in the oven. Roll 6 x 25g pieces of dough into 18cm discs as above, transferring them to an upturned baking sheet. Put 2 tbsp of crème fraîche on each, then distribute the mushrooms and slices of artichoke between the discs of dough. Sprinkle over the parmesan.
Slide the pizzette on to the heated baking stone or baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes until golden.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
