Basic pizza dough

Before you start, measure out all your ingredients.

Sift the flour and salt into a clean bowl and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water using a spoon and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well.

Gradually mix in the flour and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, bringing more flour in, and when it all starts to stick together, mix in the rest of the flour with your hands. Make sure you wash your hands and dust them with flour first!

Wipe off the counter and sprinkle a little flour onto it. Put the dough onto the counter and knead until it's smooth and springy – it should take about 10 minutes. Shape it into a ball.

Rub a little oil into a large bowl and put the ball of dough into the bowl. Loosely cover the dough with clingfilm and place in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Sprinkle more flour onto the counter and knead the dough again briefly. Divide into 4 pieces.

Roll out the dough into circles or rough rectangles, about ½ cm thick, and put onto on greased and floured baking trays. Use immediately or cover with clingfilm and chill until ready to use.

TASTE'S take

This recipe was created with young cooks in mind. It's easy to make and can be used as a base for regular pizza as well as calzone.