Leaving enough time for the dough to rise will give it a better structure and improve the flavour. Recipes will vary, but as a rough guide, allow four hours for it to rise, covered with a damp cloth or oiled clingfilm. You can also leave it for 24 hours in the fridge for a slow rise which will add even more flavour. Follow our recipe for perfect pizza dough. It calls for fresh yeast but just halve the quantity if using active dry yeast.
A fresh tomato sauce for pizza needs a specific type of cooking tomato, namely San Marzano. They have thick skins and flesh, and contain much less water than salad tomatoes. Plus they're sweet and low in acidity, with few seeds. Skin the tomatoes before roughly chopping and cooking with a little garlic and seasoning until thickened.
There's nothing wrong at all with using tinned tomatoes for the sauce. However, buy Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano. Although they will cost a little more, cheaper brands tend to be too watery and not as sweet. Take the tomatoes out of their juice and mash them with your hands or a potato masher to keep the texture, and add a little sea salt and black pepper. A simple yet tasty sauce.
For a speedy, easy sauce, try using passata – tomato sauce which has been strained of its skin and seeds. Good Italian brands will be thicker and sweeter so buy the best quality you can. Add a little sea salt and perhaps a pinch of dried oregano, depending on your recipe. Ladle a little into the centre of the dough, then use the base of the ladle to spread it evenly and thinly all over the surface.
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For an authentic Italian pizza, buffalo mozzarella is the cheese of choice. And when making a classic margherita, Parmesan is also used, to add a salty, more savoury flavour to the relatively neutral mozzarella. Other good melting cheeses are provolone, fontina and Cheddar, which can be combined with buffalo mozzarella. Ensure to drain fresh mozzarella well before using it on pizza.
A drizzle of chilli oil really peps up a pizza. It's very easy to make and is so versatile. It also adds punch to a simple pasta dish, livens up a stir-fry and gives extra zing to a cheese toastie.
Translated as 'trouser leg', calzone was invented in Naples as an easy on-the-go food. It's basically a pizza which is folded in half before baking, often stuffed with mozzarella, salami and ricotta. Our recipe is for mini calzones, which make a great party snack, stuffed with Parmesan and vegetables. The quantity would make two to three larger-sized calzones.
This is white, as opposed to red, pizza, with no tomato sauce. It's a wonderfully cheesy option – the base is usually covered in ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. Crème fraîche can be used in place of the ricotta, and it could also topped with ham or salami, green olives, artichoke hearts or anchovies.
With a simple dough made with flour, yogurt, water and baking powder, there's no resting or rising involved in this pizza, and it's topped with melting mozzarella, courgettes, artichokes and mushrooms. Start cooking it in an ovenproof frying pan before finishing off in the oven. This ensures the base is crisp.
By using fast-acting, easy-blend dried yeast, you can rustle up this pizza in under an hour, with only a 10-minute rise. It will be even quicker if you use a stand mixer with a hook attachment to knead the dough. The topping calls for passata, mozzarella and garlic, but experiment with adding whatever ingredients you fancy, like pepperoni, sliced black olives and grated Parmesan.
Popular in North Africa and Turkey, these spicy lamb pizzas called pide are often sold as street food. The dough is similar to pizza dough, although it contains oil so the base can be rolled very thinly. The minced lamb is flavoured with chilli, tomato, garlic and dried mint, which is much more intense than fresh. Traditionally, there's no cheese but it's tasty with some feta crumbled over.
In northern Spain, these pizzas are known as coca. Rectangular in shape, they are topped with tomato, a local creamy blue cheese, garlic, smoked paprika and a local sausage similar to salami or chorizo. It's a very good combination for any pizza.
Pizza is pretty tough on vegans, without that lovely bubbling cheese. But this recipe uses vegan mozzarella, which is not a bad substitute, plus shredded shallots, Brussels sprouts and slices of roasted lemon which have a very intense citrus flavour.
Although you won't achieve the same light, crisp and airy result with a gluten-free base, it still works pretty well. Ready-made gluten-free bases are widely available in shops now – some made with gluten-free flour, some based on puréed cauliflower. Or try our recipe for gluten-free focaccia dough, either using gluten-free strong flour, or the flour blend as directed in the recipe. Simply add your favourite toppings.
Homemade Indian naan makes a great pizza base. The dough traditionally uses ghee (clarified butter) but substitute with olive oil if you prefer. Our recipe also includes milk and yogurt for a soft bread, filled with pockets of air. Topped with a little chilli, mozzarella and tomatoes, this Italian-Indian hybrid is definitely worth a try.
Sliced chestnut mushrooms are cooked with lots of garlic to release their juices, which are thickened with flour to make a rich liquor. Add in some mozzarella, Parmesan and fresh basil for a wonderful hit of tasty, savoury flavours. Truffle oil is drizzled on the pizza once cooked – it's very strong, so use it sparingly.
Honey infused with fresh chillies may become an addiction! It needs at least 12 hours to infuse, but will keep for up to three weeks to drizzle over roasted veg, use in salad dressings, whatever you like. But when combined with two different types of pepperoni, mozzarella, fresh chillies and olive oil, it's a seriously good pizza topping.
Get the recipe for double pepperoni and spiced honey pizza here
We're not going to suggest you begin to perfect the art of sourdough bread-making just for a pizza, but if you're a sourdough convert, the dough makes a very flavoursome base. Just add your favourite toppings and follow our-step-by-step guide to making sourdough.