Some days, the dough rises better than others, depending on a few factors – such as the freshness of the yeast, the temperature of the room, and even the warmth of the dough itself. Today, however, the plastic bag is puffed up so tightly that it looks about to burst.
The dough is warm and smooth when I turn it out onto the floured wooden work surface and start punching it down. I knead it until it is no longer sticky and until the flour I dusted it with is worked in.
Preparing the Base
Then comes the fun part, rolling out the dough with the cold marble rolling pin. Like a cliché pizza chef, I sling the square of stubborn dough around on one hand to stretch it, spinning it until it becomes more circular and large enough to fill my pizza trays.
The trays are special, non-stick trays designed especially for pizza, with holes on the base so that the pizza cooks properly underneath. I brush the trays with olive oil and dust them with flour, and then slide the dough circles onto them and pinch them around the edges. Spraying on a thin film of olive oil makes the crust crispy and seals it against any liquids the toppings might release.
Adding the Toppings
Next comes my homemade pizza sauce. I blend tomato paste with dried oregano, cracked pepper, salt, a squirt of tomato sauce, a pinch of sugar to give it tang, and a tablespoon of olive oil to make it smooth and spreadable. After spreading it evenly on the pizza bases, I sprinkle a handful of mozzarella cheese on top.
After our first experience making chicken pizza, which tasted bland and awful, I started experimenting with the flavouring until I found a taste that our family loved. When making it for friends, I dial back on the chilli, but our family loves it hot and spicy. I fry the chicken with a mix of Nando’s chicken marinade, soy, and tomato sauce until the flavours are just mixed and then spread the chicken on the pizza. The onion is then cut up and briefly sautéed in the same pan as the chicken so that the flavour transfers to them too.
Next up is the mushrooms. In the past, my mom would very carefully arrange them on the pizza in concentric circles, pushed slightly into the other toppings to keep them from coming off. More recently, though, I have taken to crumbling the mushrooms in both hands so that they are more evenly spread over the entire pizza.
Just to be even more controversial, I add pineapple to my pizza too. Despite the pineapple haters out there, I feel that the pineapple, mushroom, and chicken really complement each other. I do, however, drain the pineapple ahead of time and pat it dry to ensure that most of the juice does not transfer to the pizza.
Last of all is another layer of mozzarella. I crackle some extra pepper on top. By now, between the thick base – which has been rising all this time – and the liberal toppings, the pizza is about an inch high.
The oven has been heating up while I was adding the last few layers of topping, and incessant, discordant beeping tells me that it is ready. I slide the pizza carefully onto the rack and shut the door.
Now comes the hardest part of all – waiting for the pizza to bake.