Living on pizza alone

As a fresher during fresher’s week I have received so much free food and food vouchers. One company that seems to be really shoving vouchers down my throat is Dominos (other pizza companies are available!). There are countless discarded pizza boxes and leftover pizza crusts left on the road. To be honest it’s getting quite disgusting and I’m starting to get sick of it!

However if you’re not over your pizza addiction yet and those vouchers have disappeared out of your pocket, I have a recipe to help sustain that habit…perhaps in a healthier way too!

Pizza is really easy to make and it only takes about 2 hours. You can make a big batch and freeze the bases so all you need to do is add your toppings.

My recipe is as follows:
500g strong white flour
1 sachet of yeast (7g)
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
2tsps olive oil
320ml water

Simply mix together all the ingredients above. Gradually add the water. You may need a little more water. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic and smooth. You don’t want the dough to be too dry or too sticky. Leave the dough in an oiled bowl to double in size. This should take about an hour.

Once risen, knead the dough again until all the air has been knocked out and divide the dough into as many bases as you want. This dough could make 4 larger pizzas or 8 individual ones.Now simply add your toppings and cook in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes at 220° until golden brown at the edges.

A Very English Muffin

The English muffin; a classic, a staple and a godsend for the lowly student. Why? Because they’re easy to make in large batches and they’re so easy to freeze and unfreeze!

They go great with jam and butter but also with soups, baked beans, stews etc. They’re basically perfect freezer food. Pop one in the toaster and it will be ready to eat in 5 minutes.

The ingredients are also really basic and you’re bound to have them all lying around in the cupboard already.

My recipe is as follows:

250g strong white flour
1 Tbsp sugar (castor or brown)
a pinch of salt
7g (1 sachet) instant yeast
100ml of milk mixed with
75ml water

Start by mixing together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add the milk and water gradually. Knead the dough for a good 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Leave to rise for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in sized.

Heat your oven at 200°C. Roll the dough out to about 1-2 cms thickness. Cut out circles that are about 8cms in size. I used a water glass for the shape! Leave on a plate with a tea towel over them to rest for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile heat up a frying pan.

Place the dough circles onto the frying pan and cook them for about 3-4 minutes on each side. You want them to be fairly browned on both sides. Once all of the circles have been cooked, place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven for about 10 minutes. This is just to make sure they’re not too doughy on the inside. Once they out leave to completely cool if you want to freeze them or cut them up and slather with butter, enjoy!

An english muffin- done and dusted!