I love pizza, and I love homemade pizza because I can make it exactly how I like it. I love all things salty, and this is a salt lovers pizza – anchovies, capers, olives. Seriously, does it get any saltier! The best thing about pizza is that you can top it with anything you like. Change-up the toppings until you have your perfect pizza.
The last time I made this pizza was a month ago while we were sailing through Indonesia. Sailing through Indonesia during the Coronavirus Pandemic was an experience I won’t be forgetting soon. Not all good – gunshots fired in warning, but not all bad – swimming with a wild dugong. Click here to read my story.
Ingredients
For the base
- Olive oil, to grease
- 250ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast
- 450g (3 cups) plain flour, sifted
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbs olive oil
Topping
- Homemade pizza sauce*
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 – 8 anchovies, roughly chopped
- 1 Capsicum sliced
- 2-3 Tablespoons sliced olives
- 1-2 Tablespoons of capers
- 16 – 20 slices of Salami
- 400g grated cheese (pizza mix is delicious)
- Dry Italian herbs and chilli flakes
- amounts are a rough guide only
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Brush two or three 25cm pizza trays with oil to grease. (I used 3 oven trays and got yummy thin crispy bases).
Mix the sugar and water in a jug or small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and place it in a draught-free place for five minutes, until bubbles form on the surface.
Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and the oil. Mix well with a spoon until blended. Dump the mix onto a floured work surface and knead for six minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces and cover and rest for five minutes. Now is a good time to prepare your topping ingredients.
Roll each dough portion out. Use your hands to stretch the dough gently. Line the greased pizza trays with the dough, pushing the dough to the edges of the trays. Spread the bases with pizza sauce, and top with onion, anchovies, olives, capers, capsicum, salami and cheese. Sprinkle with Italian herb and chilli flakes.
Bake in preheated oven, at 220c for 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbling on top and base is crispy.
* I make pizza sauce with a tin of chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, pepper.
* Another delicious alternative to pizza sauce is using sun-dried tomato pesto for the base. This pesto is a delicious option!