General Pizza tips & Quick Questions

prettypennies

We have having a funday in my yr1/2 class next week.

We are planning to let the children help to make the food in the morning.

I was thinking of letting them make individual pizzas and was wondering about the best way to go about it.

If I made the pizza dough in advance could I roll it out and freeze it? Would I need to bake it first?

When ever I made pizza with my kids I have always just done everything on the same day.

I would also appreicate some ideas for popular and cheap toppings suitable for all faiths.

barbie_babe

what about muffin pizza i did this at a mums and tots once they loved them.

morganb

Sorry to put a damper on it but are you allowed to make the dough yourself? Doesn't it have to be shop bought so parents know what's in it and how it's been made (I'm not being disrespectful about your cooking, I find it extremely annoying and highly stupid that it's considered better practice to give children shop bought stuff. I remember when I used to bake biscuits for my tutor group ... now we're not allowed to). In which case I would stick to muffins ... or isn't there some rule that says you can bake it but you have to provide a list of ingredients (!!!) and the children aren't allowed to eat it, unless parents have given their written permission beforehand, in which case the children need to take the food home and show it to their parents before they can eat it. The world has gone completely mad. My son's nursery said he can take a birthday cake in if its' a shop bought one (i.e. one with additives, colours, etc.) but not a homemade one. Mad, mad, mad.

Gingernutmeg

Maybe a pitta bread base would be less hassle? For toppings, I'd stick to vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onion, sweetcorn - maybe you could make 'pizza faces' with the different veggies ... I'd steer clear of meat toppings, partly because of the faith issue and mainly because of the food hygiene issues it raises, it's much harder to make someone ill with a pepper than it is with cooked meat lol.

angelavdavis

I would buy ciabatta bread for the base or make scone base.

You can then spend the lesson decorating the top!

I would say stick to chopped veggies and herbs for toppings. Normally I would suggest grated mozzarella, but bearing in mind the cultural challenges, perhaps with some vegetarian cheese (?)

prettypennies

Some really helpful post thanks.

Thankfully I don't work for one of the nanny state type of schools. So as long as the ingredients don't include anything prohibitive by faith or cited on the allergy forms were good to go.

Barbie babe do you have the recipe for your muffin pizza?

Gingernutmeg I think the pizza faces are a cute idea thanks

absfabs

Hello,

have decided to try make our own pizza. Will prepare dough in breadmaker, not worried about that.

Regarding the toppings, though, do you cook veg like peppers and onions first?

What about bacon? Pre-cook or will it be done ?cripsy just on pizza?

How much tomatoe sauce/how thick - am planning to use chopped toms with olive (sainsbury's carton), reduced to be thickened and maybe with some tom puree?

How much cheese? Have got grated cheddar+mozarella.

If veg don't need pre-cooking, should I brush over them with oil? And what about the crust, brush it or not?

Sorry about all the questions, but I so do want to get it right. Am sick of paying £20 for nice take away/home delivery pizzas or even £4 for mostly disappointing supermarket ones.

scubaleopard

I make my bases in the breadmaker too-- they are really yummy.

As for toppings I love to spread the dough with pesto sauce instead of the tomato puree. I use the jars of pesto either in red or green. This gives the most delicious start to any pizza.

The actual topping I make with whatever I have got to hand i.e peppers, mushrooms, bacon, ham, asparagus spears, pepperoni or a mixture of anything we like sometimes some rosemary chopped really finely. I always cook it first not too much but just stir fry it in a little spray oil.

Add this to the pizz base and then I top with halved cherry tomotoes, torn basil leaves and mozzerella cheese. They are better than any shop bought pizzas

vixtress

i have been making my own pizzas for a while now and to honest i am very impressed! i make the dough in the breadmaker and spread it as thin as i can on a pizza tray with holes in, these make a big difference.

the sauce is tinned toms, blob of tom puree, spoonful of sugar, glug of oil and reduced on the hob, usually with some oragano

the toppings vary, bacon i would pre cook, onions, peppers etc just slice fairly thinnly, dont bother cooking. tuna and red onion is nice.

i usually riop up mozzarella and put on tp of the sauce, then the toppings and finish with a sprinkle of mature chedder. i dont measure the cheese, just put it on till it looks about right!

i dont bother brushing anything

good luck

Penelope_Penguin

I make a thin base, and spread with a HM tomato, onion, garlic and herb sauce (cook the lot slowly for ages until most of the moisture is gone. I roll onto polenta, and brush the edges with olive oil, which keeps the edges crispy.

I add whatever toppings I have, and finish with mozzarella cheese. Feta is nice, too.

You can also take a look at The Complete Pizza Collection.

HTH, Penny. x