Pizza Capricciosa

1. Pizza base choices –

Classic pizza dough (yeast) – 5 min hand knead or stand-mix or 40 second food processor, plus 4 to 6 hours rising time (across 2 rises) No yeast pizza dough – This is excellent, not a sad substitute for yeast pizza. 40 seconds in food processor, or hand knead. NO RISE TIME. Store bought – anything of your choice, un-cooked or par-cooked (else it will burn before cheese melts)

2.Cheese notes – Freshly shredded melts / spreads better because pre-shredded in packets are coated with anti-clumping agents and often thicker pieces. If using cups for measuring, shred first then pack it into the cup very tightly else you’ll be short – so sad. I cut hunks of cheese, weigh, then grate.

3. Artichokes marinated in oil are tastiest, followed by vinegary marinades. Plain frozen or fresh artichokes will lack flavour.

4. Ham – Try to get finely shaved ham if you can, which is a standard ham-slicing option at Australian delis. Better coverage without weighing down pizza too much. But definitely not the end of the world if you only have standard slices – suggest chopping it into pieces and sprinkling.

5. Pizza stone – Preheat the pizza stone until very hot. Assemble your pizza on a pizza paddle or inverted baking tray sprinkled with semolina (so pizza doesn’t stick). Slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone with a flick, in one swift motion, remembering that you can’t move the pizza once the dough makes contact with the stone! Bake for around 8 minutes.

Nutrition is for the whole pizza.