Pizzeria-style pizza in a home oven: dough, sauce and heat

Pizza needs high-protein flour — 12–13%. Protein forms gluten, which makes the dough elastic: you can stretch it thin without tearing, and it blisters on the rim as it bakes. Check the pack: at least 11 g protein per 100 g.

Italian "00" flour is very finely milled and ideal for 400–450 °C ovens. In a home oven at 250 °C it can give a pale crust, so a good option is half "00" and half ordinary bread flour. Plain flour with 10% protein will do too, but the dough will be less stretchy.

Bakers work in percentages of the flour weight. 65% hydration means 65 g water per 100 g flour — the sweet spot for home: wet enough to be light, firm enough to be easy to handle.

Pour the yeasty water into the salted flour, mix until even and leave for 20 minutes. In that time the flour absorbs the water and gluten starts forming on its own — kneading becomes much easier. Then add the oil and knead for 8–10 minutes by hand or 5–6 minutes with a dough hook.

How to tell it's done: pinch off a piece and gently stretch it between your fingers. If it stretches into a thin, translucent sheet you can see light through without tearing, the gluten is ready. If it tears, knead a couple more minutes.

Dough risen in 1–2 hours somewhere warm can be baked, but it tastes plain and bready. With slow fermentation in the fridge, the yeast works gently and enzymes break starch down into sugars. The dough becomes aromatic with a light tang, browns better and stretches more easily.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces of 230–250 g — enough for a 28–30 cm pizza. Shape each into a tight ball: tuck the edges underneath towards the centre until the surface is smooth and taut. Pinch the seam closed underneath.

Put the balls in containers or on an oiled tray and cover. If the dough fermented in the fridge, take the balls out 2–3 hours before baking: cold dough springs back and won't stretch.

A rolling pin squeezes out all the gas — the rim comes out flat and dense. Stretch by hand so the air bubbles move to the edge and puff up in the oven.

In a pizzeria a pizza bakes in 60–90 seconds at 450 °C. At home we make up for it with stored heat. You need a surface that stores heat and passes it straight into the dough: a pizza stone, a steel, or at a pinch an upturned heavy baking tray.

Put the stone or steel on the top shelf, 15–20 cm below the upper element. Set the oven to maximum — 250–280 °C — and preheat for 45–60 minutes. Yes, that long: the stone must heat right through.

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone with a peel or a sheet of baking paper. Bake for 6–8 minutes. For a spotty leopard rim, switch on the grill for the last 1–2 minutes.

Classic Italian pizza sauce is raw. It cooks in the oven anyway, and without simmering it keeps the fresh, bright taste of tomatoes.

Take 400 g canned whole tomatoes, crush them by hand or pulse briefly in a blender. Add ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of dried oregano and a few basil leaves. That's enough for 4 pizzas — 3–4 tbsp each.

Spread the sauce thinly, leaving a 1.5–2 cm border. Watery sauce and too much sauce are the main causes of a soggy centre.

The best cheese is low-moisture pizza mozzarella (the block kind): it melts evenly and stretches without releasing water. Slice fresh mozzarella in brine, lay it on kitchen paper and drain for 30 minutes, or it will flood the pizza. 100–125 g cheese per pizza is plenty.

Use less topping than feels right. A thin base can't carry a mountain — the centre stays raw. Watery vegetables (mushrooms, courgette) are better pre-cooked. Add fresh herbs, rocket, prosciutto and burrata after baking.