Homemade pizza recipe

This homemade pizza recipe became a lockdown favourite, it's simple to follow and the results are incredible using just a conventional fan assisted oven. This recipe make 2 pizzas, but you can easily adjust accordingly. Some recipes I've read use seemingly complicated terms and methods for novices (such as myself) and so my recipe below is simplified and hopefully more accessible for those who, like me, just fancied giving it a go. You do need to plan ahead though, as you will ideally make the dough the day before you make the pizzas! I have included some topping suggestions below but half the fun is to experiment with your own choices. It's also a great activity for kids, so get the whole family involved!

• 175ml luke warm/tepid water
• 6g sea salt
• 0.75g instant dried yeast
• 250g white flour (I used strong white bread flour, just use whatever you have!)
• Toppings of your choice:
• Suggestion 1: passata (from a jar) for the tomato base, mozzarella, prosciutto, black olives and basil leaves
• Suggestion 2: passata (from a jar) for the tomato base, mozzarella, chorizo and fresh chilli

• Pour the 175ml of luke warm water into a large bowl, add the salt and swirl until dissolved. Then, add the yeast and it let it sit for a minute to hydrate. Swirl until dissolved. Add the flour (no need to sieve). Top tip: using luke warm /tepid water will ensure the yeast stays alive, cold or hot water might kill it.
• Mix the dough in the bowl with your hands. Once fully combined, break your dough up into a few pieces and stretch them about with your hands. There is no exact science to this so don't worry too much! If you're a pro, you can use something called the 'pincer method' instead but I didn't bother with that and everything worked out a treat! Now combine everything back into one big ball of dough. If your mixture is too wet, add a bit more flour. Leave dough to rest in bowl for about 20 minutes.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Take your dough out of the bowl and knead on the surface for about a minute. The skin of the dough should be smooth. Clean your bowl, then lightly coat with oil (I used sunflower oil). Put the dough ball back into the clean bowl (if there is a ‘seam’/‘crease’ in the dough ball place it seam side down). Cover the bowl tightly with cling film and let it rest for 2 hours at room temperature for the ‘first rise’.
• I didn't notice a big difference in the size of the dough after the first rise, so don’t be alarmed if you don't either. Flour a work surface. Split your dough in two and shape into balls. One ball = 1 pizza. Place the dough balls on separate small plates, loosely cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight for the ‘second fermentation’. You can leave it for up to two days but it’s better the next day.
• The next day, heat oven to highest temperature (ours got to about 270). Pre-heat a baking tray/sheet (we used a pizza tray - circular baking tray with small holes throughout).
• Flour a surface, stretch each dough ball out into a rough pizza shape with your hands first and then use a rolling pin to thin/achieve desired shape/size.
• Add passata, cheese and/or any other toppings! Cook for about 8 mins. Just judge it by eye..