Upgrade pizza night at home with overnight dough and creamy burrata

Ingredients

PIZZA DOUGH

• 600ml cold tap water

• 1½ tsp dry yeast

• 1kg 00 flour

• 30g fine sea salt

• fine semolina, for dusting

PIZZA TOPPINGS

• 80g fior di latte

• 1 × 125g burrata

• purple or green basil leaves, to garnish

VODKA SAUCE

• 200ml olive oil

• 120g brown onions, finely chopped

• 1 tsp crushed garlic

• 120ml vodka

• 500g crushed tomatoes

• 120ml thick cream

• 100g parmesan cheese, grated

• 1 tbsp fine sea salt

• 1 tsp cracked black pepper

Method

TO MAKE THE PIZZA DOUGH

1. Step 1

   Pour the water into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast, stirring to dissolve it. Add 500g of the flour to the bowl and mix with your hands for 30 seconds to combine.

2. Step 2

   Add the remaining flour to the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds to combine, then add the salt and mix for a further 30 seconds.

3. Step 3

   Tip the dough mass onto your benchtop and knead with your hands for 10 minutes.

4. Step 4

   Shape the dough mass into a smooth ball by dragging it across the benchtop to form tension on the outside of the dough. Cover and leave the dough to rest in the fridge for 24 hours.

5. Step 5

   After the dough has rested, portion the dough into 250g pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, then allow it to rest for 10-12 hours in an airtight container in the fridge.

TO MAKE THE VODKA SAUCE

1. Step 1

   Add the onions and garlic and gently saute until they are translucent, without colouring.

2. Step 2

   Pour the vodka into the pan and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook for about 2 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated.

3. Step 3

   Add the crushed tomatoes and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Step 4

   Add the cream, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, then set it aside to cool.

5. Step 5

   Using a hand blender, blend the sauce until smooth.

6. Step 6

   Add the parmesan cheese and stir. Return the sauce to the pan and cook it down for another 5 minutes, until it thickens, then remove the pan from the heat. Once cooled, you can use the sauce on your pizza. Alternatively, serve it warm as a crust dipper.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIZZA

1. Step 1

   Take the dough out of the fridge 1½ hours before cooking (1 hour if the weather is hot). The dough temperature should be between 16C and 18C.

2. Step 2

   Preheat your oven to 250C fan-forced (270C conventional). Place a pizza stone on the middle rack to heat up for at least 30 minutes before baking. If you don’t have a stone, use an inverted baking tray.

3. Step 3

   Sprinkle some fine semolina over the benchtop. Place a dough ball on the bench and, using your floured hands, press down with your middle three fingers to gently flatten and open the dough into a small disc. Lift the dough and use your palms to stretch and rotate it in a circular motion until it reaches 28-30cm. Use extra semolina as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Step 4

   Transfer the pizza base to the pizza stone or baking tray, then spread 100g of the cold vodka sauce on the base, and scatter with hand-torn fior di latte.

5. Step 5

   Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, or until the base is golden.

6. Step 6

   Garnish the pizza with burrata and basil leaves and serve immediately.

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