Pizza is definitely my favorite dish; I think I could eat it at any time and even after a hearty meal if someone offered me a slice I wouldn’t be able to say no. At our house we make it once a week and I prepare it traditionally with a leavened dough that requires long resting times — in fact, pizza day is always on Sunday when I have more time.
But what happens if I crave pizza during the week and time is short?? No problem — I found the solution! A dough that requires no rising, ready in just 5 minutes. How? Read the recipe and you’ll find out. I put my hands up now for pizza purists: it is obviously not the traditional pizza with a “Bonci”-style dough but it’s still a great solution to enjoy this delicacy when you’re short on time!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 SERVINGS
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups self-rising flour (I use the Spadoni brand)
- 1 cup Water
- 1 1/4 cups Tomato passata
- 2 mozzarella (about 4.4 oz (125 g) each)
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- to taste Oregano
Preparation
I prepare the dough with a stand mixer, but if you don’t have one you can easily knead by hand — you’ll just need a bit more patience and, of course, energy!
First remember to preheat the oven to 410°F (conventional) because flour with added leavening begins to act as soon as it’s mixed with water, so it’s important to bake it as soon as it’s ready.
Put the flour in the stand mixer bowl or on a work surface, add the salt, the oil and 1 cup of water. Start working the dough and if it seems too dry add the remaining water (depending on the batch I sometimes use 220–250 ml). Knead for at least 3 minutes in the stand mixer or about 5 minutes if kneading by hand. If the dough is still too dry add a tiny bit of water at a time, but it shouldn’t be necessary. The dough should be smooth and homogeneous.Without letting the dough rest, place it on a previously oiled baking tray and, using your fingertips, flatten it so it fills the entire tray (I used a very large tray about 12.6 in in diameter — if you don’t have one use two smaller ones). The dough may seem insufficient and too thin…that’s normal, you’ll see it rise during baking.
Once stretched, pour the tomato sauce over it and spread it evenly, season with a pinch of salt, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with oregano.Bake at 410°F for about 20–25 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. As always, baking times vary by oven. The dough should puff up and slightly brown at the edges. At this point, take the pizza out of the oven and spread the mozzarella previously cut into cubes over the top. Return the pizza to the oven for about 5 minutes. I recommend lightly oiling the surface and especially the edges before putting it back in the oven; this will make the crust crispier on the outside. The mozzarella should melt and brown slightly. Remove from the oven, let rest 2–3 minutes and serve. I suggested waiting a few minutes so you don’t burn your mouth — something I regularly fail at because I can’t resist as soon as the pizza comes out of the oven!!!!
Notes
You can enrich this basic pizza however you like: substitute crescenza or provola for the mozzarella, add prosciutto crudo, cooked ham or speck, grilled vegetables… let your culinary imagination run wild.
