Pizza Anna with tomato, Gorgonzola, caramelised onion and rocket

I could go on and on about different toppings: with a good basic dough, the sky’s the limit. You can be endlessly inventive when creating your own pizza toppings, and it’s also a good way to combine tasty leftovers.

ANNA’S TIPS
FLOUR
I always use cake flour as it is easier to manage and always gives a crisp crust when cooked.

YEAST
Use fresh yeast from your local bakery or supermarket. It can be refrigerated for about 3 weeks, but not frozen. If you prefer, for every 25g fresh yeast, use 10g instant dry yeast.

HEATING
To ensure a crispy crust, it is very important to preheat the oven as well as the baking tray for a good 15 minutes before making the pizza. Use a Swiss roll tray, a specialised round pizza tray, or even a ceramic tile.

TOMATO BASE
Pour 1 x 410g tin Italian peeled tomatoes into a food processor, blend until smooth and stir through 45ml (3 tbsp) dried oregano and 15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil. Spread this over your pizza as a base. A tomato base is not always essential for a pizza: you can just use cheese toppings. Don’t spread the tomato base all the way to the edges of the pizza – leave a border to make it easier to pick up pizza slices with your fingers.

STORING
I always keep ready-rolled pizza dough in my fridge or freezer for a quick snack or a lazy TV dinner. Separate the pizza bases with plastic wrap or baking paper. When cooking, remove the wrapping, place the pizza base on a preheated tray or tile and top with your latest invention.

TOPPING
Tinned products (such as mushrooms, artichokes and asparagus) can be used instead of fresh ingredients.

Some tasty toppings
• Green, yellow and red peppers, seeded and sliced
• Basil instead of rocket
• Goat’s cheese instead of Gorgonzola
• Thinly sliced baby marrows
• Three cheeses (such as mozzarella, Pecorino, feta) and red onions
• Spinach and artichokes
• Olives and anchovies
• Pan-fried aubergine and garlic