Y5 Pizza Workshop

This week pupils in Y5 were transported to Italy where they got to experience making real pizzas as part of their topic work.

I didn't realise that we were going to be making the pizzas from scratch! To start with we had to create dough and knead it into shape. Then we had to choose and chop up all of our ingredients. Normally we order pizza, we don't get to cook it in a real wood burning oven!
Grace

The oven was so hot. I put my pizza in and it was cooked in less than four minutes!
Shane

What recipe did they use?
Day Before Cooking:

• Pour water in a mixing bowl.
• Add salt, and dissolve in water.
• Add yeast to water and dissolve.
• Slowly add the flour to the water and mix by hand until a ball is formed.
• Remove from the bowl and place on your work bench, knead by hand for approx 10 mins.
• Dough should be a nice spongy texture-not too sticky or hard, add extra flour if necessary.
• Cover the dough with a plastic wrap, or coat dough with olive oil. Rest for 10 to 15 mins.
• Portion dough into approx 200g to 250g and round into balls.
• Place the balls into an air tight container and refrigerate overnight.

Day of Cooking:

• Remove dough balls from refrigerator 2 to 3 hours prior to making pizzas, allowing dough balls to prove at room temperature. After which the dough balls should be ready to hand stretch into your pizza bases. A smooth surface is required for stretching your pizza base, marble or granite bench-top is ideal. Sprinkle some flour on the bench before stretching.
• Place the pizza base on the flour and add your toppings.
• Use a wide paddle to scoop the pizza off the bench and place it in the oven.
• When the pizza starts to brown it can be turned in a circular motion with a small round pizza peel.
• The pizza should take approx 3 minutes to cook and can be taken out of the oven with the small round pizza peel.