#NationalPizzaWeek – Feasting Is Fun

Over the past couple of days Summer has asserted itself with a vengeance. Temperatures above 30C, blisteringly hot sunshine and clear blue skies. I love Summer and sunshine, but even this has been a little too hot for me. Cooking becomes a chore, rather than its usual relaxing pleasure. So you can imagine how relieved I was to be able to prepare a meal in under 10 minutes. Grabbing a packet of Wright’s Baking cheddar and sun dried tomato bread mix, I came up with this easy Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza.

FF Sun Dried Tomato Base Pizza — **Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza** a delicious twist on a regular pizza base.

Also I have a recipe for Sun Dried Tomato Bread, which I’m sure would work just as well. However, I needed an easy, quick prep meal. So thank you Wright’s Baking for yet again coming to my rescue.

Pizza – So Much More Than The Toppings

The beauty of using the sun dried tomato bread mix, is that while it is mixing, in the stand mixer, I can make my Crunchy Homemade Coleslaw. I always keep lemons in the kitchen and I love the way they not only thin the mayonnaise, but also remove the acrid taste from the onions in this coleslaw, which is, in my opinion one of the best accompaniments to homemade pizza.

What’s great about making your own pizza, is that you can top it with whatever you like. I had an antipasto meat selection in the fridge that went beautifully with the delicious sun dried tomato base. In fact as well as lemons I generally have mozerella and at least one packet of cured meat in the fridge. Pizza makes a quick, delicious and nutritious meal, providing it is served with a healthy pile of salad of coleslaw!

FF Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza — **Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza** what would you top yours with?

It’s All About The Base

I have to mention just how completely delicious the base of this Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza is. The crust doesn’t turn jaw breakingly hard, but remains slightly soft with a delicious salty parmesan and herb tomato flavour all of its own. I wouldn’t recommend overloading this pizza with topping as the base is just as delicious, if not more so, than what you top it with.

Make this Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza with toppings that will work with the tasty bread base. In fact this pizza would be wonderful with a little sauce, mozerella and some basil leaves. The sun dried tomato bread base really is that good.

Recipe: Makes 2 Large Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza – makes 20 slices

1 Packet Cheddar and Sun Dried Tomato Bread Mix by Wright’s Baking – alternatively use my Sun Dried Tomato Bread recipe – although I would recommend adding 1/2tsp of dried oregano to the flour

4tbsp Tomato Purée

2tbsp Olive Oil plus a little extra for greasing the baking trays – I use Filippo Berio

400g Block of Mozzerella

Selection of cured meats for topping

2 handfuls fresh basil leaves

Method:

Making The Pizza Dough

Make the Cheddar and Sun Dried Tomato Bread Mix according to the instructions on the packet.
TIP – while the bread is mixing make the coleslaw or salad!
Grease 2 large baking trays with a little olive oil.
Turn the kneaded bread dough on to one baking tray and divide in half.

Place one half of the bread dough on each of the oiled baking trays.
Rub your hands in a little oil and then gently pat the dough until it is flat and fills the baking sheet. Do the same for the other half of the dough.

Adding The Pizza Toppings

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of tomato purée to the top of each pizza base.
Using your hand smoosh the tomato purée and olive oil together so that they cover the pizza base – yes smoosh is a technical term in the Feasting kitchen!

Slice or tear the mozerella and lay on top of the pizza base.
Add thin slices of cured meat and scatter a handful of basil leaves over each pizza.

Cover both pizza’s with cling film, or do as I did on such a hot day, pop them into an unheated oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes. This will give them time to rise.
Turn the oven heat to 220C/200C fan, gas mark 7, 425F.

Baking The Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza

Remove the cling film and place the pizza’s in the oven, if they are not already in there.
Bake for 20-30 minutes. The pizzas are cooked when the base is firm underneath. I use a large palette knife to slide under the pizza and lift it. If it’s not quite firm pop it back into the oven for another 5 minutes.
Once baked remove from the oven.

To serve, remove the pizza from the tray – I slide it on to a board – and cut into slices or triangles.

Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza is ideal for feeding a crowd, as part of a buffet, or served with homemade coleslaw for an easy meal.

I really do recommend trying the Wright’s Baking range of bread mixes. Having a couple in the cupboard, even though I make almost all of our bread from scratch, is really handy on hot, busy days!

If you enjoyed this Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza you may also like these recipes:

Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza

Better Than Take Out Pizza

Asparagus Prosciutto Ham Tart

Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza — **Asparagus Prosciutto Ham Tart** easily made with puff pastry.

We all need a few quick prep. meals that we can draw on when we either don’t have the time, energy or both to create a nutritious and tasty meal. All of my pizza recipes contain less fat that delivery pizzas. That said, sometimes that really is the only option!

While in a perfect world I would have a freezer full of homemade pasta bakes, casseroles and the like, sometimes it’s nice to have a treat. Homemade pizza always feels like a treat simply because it takes so little effort to make and our children are always ready to help.

As the weather cools and we rediscover the urge to cook and bake again, enjoy it. Have fun in your kitchens creating your own very special feasts.

Since #NationalPizzaWeek is from 5th – 11th January, it simply shows how versatile pizza is. Summer or Winter, any day is a good day to make, bake and share pizza!

Sammie xx

Wright’s Baking sent me the parmesan and sun dried tomato bread mix to try. All opinions, views, content and recipes are my own. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Hello lovely people, I have been wanting to share my Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza recipe with you for ages. The trouble is I always forget to photograph the pizza once it’s cooked. I’m sorry, too many blonde moments! Yesterday though, I was resolute. That pizza was getting it’s picture taken no matter what.

Pizza Love And Baking With Kids:

So, I have been making pizzas with our children and many of their friends who’ve come to dinner, since, well, they could stand on a chair and smoosh pizza dough about. And over the years we’ve had various shaped pizzas, including; guinea pigs, batman (and pretty much every superhero a little boy could think of), lemons, flowers, cats, hearts and many more. It’s a great cop out. Invite your children’s friends for dinner, then get them to make it. First of all, they absolutely love it, secondly, I’ve never had a child who didn’t want to make their own pizza and lastly every single piece of their creation gets eaten. Also there’s no worrying about fussy eaters, just allow them to decorate their own pizza, whatever it’s shape, with a selection of toppings; pepperoni makes a great piggies snout.

Resulting in the perfect child friendly combination, messy hands, creativity and they bake and eat their creation. Because each child’s pizza is different, they happily chatter over the dinner table deciding whose is the biggest, most realistic, it literally goes on and on. I kinda miss those days. These days all 3 children can make large pizzas for the whole family, with a bowl of salad or homemade coleslaw to go alongside.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!

These pizzas are made from scratch except for one teeny tiny cheat. I use a 500g bag of Ciabatta bread mix, instead of making the pizza bases from scratch. Although I have made ciabatta pizza dough from scratch in the past, Wright’s Ciabatta Bread Mix gives such a fantastically crunchy, crisp crust, that is reliable and a lot less work than making your own!

Recipe: Makes 2 Large Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza – serves 6 Adults.

500g Bag Ciabatta Bread Mix – Olive oil according to packet instructions, plus 2 tbsp extra – I use Wright’s – bread mixes are available from Morrison’s, The Co-Op, Sainsbury’s and Asda, as well as directly from their website.

Tomato purée – approx 4tbsp – I use Waitrose own brand

Optional – Dried Oregano/ Mixed Herbs – 1tsp per large pizza. When baking with kiddies I don’t add any herbs.

300g Mozzarella – drained weight

Toppings – I used a Spanish charcuterie selection : Serrano ham, Chorizo and Salchichon – use whatever you like, mushrooms, meatballs, sweet corn, bell peppers, sliced chillis, more cheese. The options and combinations are endless!

Method :

Making The Ciabatta Pizza Base

First of all, make the Ciabatta bread dough according to the packet instructions. I use my bread maker to mix, prove and knock back. Alternatively a stand mixer with dough hook attachment works well. Also you can make the dough by hand. Leave the dough to prove.

While the pizza dough is proving thoroughly oil 2 x 38cm x 28cm (14″ x 11.5″) baking trays. I prefer to use trays as it creates a crunchy pizza crust and avoids any molten cheese drips dropping and burning on the oven base.

Shaping The Pizza

As soon as the dough has reached the knocked back stage tip the dough on to one of the baking sheets. Rub the palms of your hands over the oiled baking sheet, this will stop the dough sticking to them.

Using a dough cutter or knife, divide the dough in half.

Now comes the fun bit. Especially for children or the child within us! Using your hands pat the dough out so that it is flat.

Keep patting with your hands, very gently stretching the dough as you do... — Keep patting with your hands, very gently stretching the dough as you do…

Work with the dough, gradually patting/stretching so that it reaches the edges of the baking tray.

The base to your Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza is complete!

Drizzle a little Olive oil on your pizza base, smoosh about with your hands and then cove with cling film.

If you haven’t got a child or someone else to do the other pizza base, repeat with the second half of the dough.

Leave the pizza bases, covered in oiled cling film, in a warm place until doubled in size, or placed on separate shelves in the fridge for a few hours until needed.

Time To Add The Toppings

When the pizza is ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan, gas mark 7, 425F.

I find it easiest to have all the ingredients prepped and ready before I start assembling the pizza. In fact when I make pizza with little people, reckon on 1 x 500g batch of pizza dough to make 4-6 individual pizzas. I also have ham, cheese, sliced peppers (they make great light sabres) in bowls ready for little fingers.

Place 2tbsp tomato purée on each pizza base – smoosh with the back of a spoon or your hands to roughly cover the dough.

Now add the cheese and other toppings. I have learnt it is best not to overload with toppings, as you will end up with a soggy pizza base.

Baking The Pizza

As soon as both of the Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizzas are ready, place in a hot, preheated oven and bake for 20-30 minutes.

The pizzas are cooked when they are crusty around the edges and cooked through in the centre. I test this using a knife, the centre won’t be as crusty as the edges but you should feel resistance. If it’s still soft give the pizza another 5 minutes baking, reducing the heat slightly if the top is cooked.

Using a palette knife loosen the pizza around the edges and run it underneath. Slide the pizza out of the baking tray onto a large wooden board, or I have glass worktop saver (don’t use knives on glass it’ll blunt them) which I only use for pizzas. Cut into squares using a pizza cutter. I usually get 15 squares per pizza.

This Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza is so easy, adaptable and reliable that makes it perfect for parties, buffets, weekend meals, sleepovers the list is endless. The perfect food for Feasting, Sharing and having Fun!

If you have enjoyed this recipe for Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza you may also like these:

Crunchy Homemade Coleslaw

FF Homemade Ciabatta Base Pizza — Crunchy Homemade Coleslaw

Sun Dried Tomato Bread Pizza

Baked Cheese Olive Ciabatta Bread

Homemade pizza can be so much fun. Since you are fully in control of the toppings you can add as much, or little as you like of your favourites. Also you can adapt parts of the pizza to suit individual tastes. For example by adding chopped jalapeño pepper to one half and not the other. Likewise, for those who dislike cheese, it is easily omitted.

Whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.