John Whaite's rustic Tuscan pizza - for sharing

While I’m a greedy bugger and enjoy every last crumb of my food, I still believe that food should be shared – well, some foods at least. I’m not the kind of guy who allows people to pinch his chips at the dinner table, and I certainly wouldn’t give my last Rolo to my boyfriend Paul. In fact, if he even so much as looked at my sweets with a hint of desire he would most certainly suffer. If someone ever asks to “try” something that I’m eating, I slip into blind panic: the selfish sweat kicks in and I either politely decline and never speak to that person again, or I run away laughing, packet of sweets in hand.

In spite of my selfish gluttony, though, I do appreciate that I have to share something, otherwise I’d end up fat and alone. These fig, Stilton, quince and prosciutto pizzas are great for making with mates: not only do you make your own and eat the whole thing without sacrificing a ‘bite’ to someone else, but you can also alter the topping quantities to suit your personal taste.

Ingredients:

For the dough
400g strong white bread flour
7g salt
15g sugar
7g fast-action yeast
280ml tepid water
30g butter, melted sunflower or olive oil
Extra flour and ground cornmeal/polenta for dusting

For the topping
200g Stilton cheese
100g membrillo
12 slices prosciutto
2 large figs, sliced into eighths
Olive oil
Seeds from 1 large pomegranate
Fresh rocket leaves

Essential equipment
Pizza stone or baking sheer
Method:

Step 1: For the bread dough, put the flour in a mixing bowl and stir through the salt, sugar and yeast. Add the water and melted butter and bring into a scraggy ball. Knead on the counter for five-ten minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you have a freestanding electric mixer, knead the dough in that using the dough hook for about five minutes. Roll the ball of dough around in a lightly oiled bowl, then allow to rest until doubled in size: about 60–90 minutes.

Step 2: Place the pizza stone (or baking sheet) in the oven and heat to 250°C/220°C fan (gas as high as it will go).

Step 3: When the dough has risen, divide into four equal balls. Roll one ball out into a disc of about 18cm diameter. Place this on a baking sheet that is very well dusted in flour. Crumble on a quarter of the Stilton and a quarter of the quince, drape three slices of prosciutto over the top, and top with four pieces of fig. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then slide off the baking sheet and on to the ferociously hot pizza stone, and allow to bake for ten–15 minutes, or until the edges have puffed up and are a glorious golden brown. Repeat with the remaining dough and topping. Serve with a scattering of pomegranate seeds and a few rocket leaves.

Follow John Whaite on Twitter @JohnWhaiteBakes or visit his official website. Pizza photo courtesy of Matt Russell.

John Whaite’s rustic Tuscan pizza – for sharing

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