Home-made wood fired pizzas to give your family parties the edge

We all love a good pizza. It’s so much fun when you can create your own little slice of heaven in the comfort of your own home, garden, balcony or back yard.

The Alfresco Chef team has some amazing pizza recipes and tips, from helping you to choose the perfect blend of toppings through to making the crispy bases from fresh pizza dough.

Go for a traditional Margherita pizza, or a more adventurous Quattro Stagioni. You could even try herb topped, folded calzone to seal in those delicious flavours. Our wood fired ovens provide that added wow factor.

So fire up your Alfresco Chef oven, get the dough ready, add your favourite toppings and watch your fantastic pizza creations cook before your very eyes.

Our simple and delicious pizza dough recipe

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g Strong White Bread Flour or ‘00’ Flour
  • 2 Tsp Dried Active Yeast (follow pack for instructions)
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 Tsp Salt
  • 300ml Tepid Water
  • Flour (for dusting)

METHOD

  1. In a large mixing  bowl, bring all ingredients together until just combined.
  2. Knead dough on a floured worktop for 5 -7 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
  3. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove until doubled in size (Approx. 4 5 minutes).
  4. Turn the dough out onto a dusted work surface and divide into 4 even pieces and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Shape your dough
  • On a dusted work surface, use a rolling pin and hands to shape the dough into a thin circular base.
  • Transfer to a floured pizza stone or peel, add the tomato base sauce and desired toppings. Cook pizza in a conventional oven at 230c or a fan assisted oven at 210°c for 10 minutes.
  • Alternatively, cook in a wood fired pizza oven at around 400c turning regularly until cooked (approx. 90-180 seconds depending on the toppings used).

Our perfect tomato sauce recipe

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 x 400G Tinned Plum Tomatoes
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic
  • Handful of Chopped Fresh Basil
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

METHOD

  1. Peel and finely slice the garlic cloves.
  2. Place a frying pan on a medium heat add the olive oil and garlic.
  3. Once garlic begins to colour, add the basil and tomatoes, using a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve to remove the garlic and basil.
  5. Pour the sauce back into the pan and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for roughly 5 minutes to reduce the sauce until it is a perfect consistency for spreading on your pizza base.

Our ultimate wood fired garlic bread...

  1. Dust your pizza peel with flour and place your shaped dough on top.
  2. For the garlic butter, combine 50g of soft butter, 1 clove of minced or grated garlic and a crack of black pepper.
  3. Spread the butter mix over the base.
  4. Sprinkle over a handful of Parmesan and drizzle with truffle or olive oil.
  5. Cook in a wood fired oven at around 400°c turning regularly until cooked (Approx 90-120 seconds)

Margherita - A Classic!

Add grated or torn pieces of mozzarella to the base and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Once cooked, add fresh basil Leaves to garnish.

Vegetarian

Add grated or torn pieces of mozzarella to the base, along with sundried tomatoes, slices of mushroom, pepper, onion and a sprinkle of oregano.  If desired, garnish with fresh rocket or basil Leaves.

Capricciosa

Add grated or torn pieces  of mozzarella to the base, along with prosciutto ham, sliced mushrooms, sliced marinated artichoke and chopped black olives.

‘FRY UP’ Breakfast Pizza

There is nothing better than a good old English Fry Up!

Why not ditch the toast and add your favourite breakfast ingredients to your pizza base or give Jacks toppings a try…

Toppings

Egg, bacon, black pudding, sausage, mushroom, passata, red leicester cheese and torn mozzarella

Method

METHOD

  1. Precook the bacon, sausage and black pudding and slice ready to add to the base.
  2. Pre heat oil in a cast iron pan.
  3. Crack an egg into a pan and slightly fry.
  4. Dust your pizza peel or board with flour and place your shaped dough on top.
  5. Spread the passata onto the dough, leaving space at the edge to allow for a crust.
  6. Add toppings onto the base and place egg in the middle, cover the egg with a small amount of kitchen foil to stop the yolk from burning.
  7. Cook pizza in a wood fired oven at around 400°C turning regularly until cooked (approx. 90 depending on the toppings used).

Why not finish it off with Ketchup or Brown Sauce!

Wood fired focaccia bread

Infused with tomatoes, olives and rosemary, this wood fired focaccia is a tasty alternative to store-bought bread!

Ingredients
  • 500g strong bread flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 400ml cold water 
  • Olive oil
  • Coarse sea salt 
  • Chopped rosemary
  • 6 finely chopped cherry tomatoes 
  • Black and green olives 
Method
  1. Sift the flour, salt, yeast and 2 tbsp rosemary into a bowl
  2. Add the olive oil and water to the dry ingredient mix and knead well until you have formed a dough ball
  3.  Gently hand stretch the dough, pinching and folding the sides into the centre. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and continue to repeat this process for 3-5 minutes
  4. Once done, tip the dough onto the silicone dough mat, brush with oil and knead for 5 more minutes
  5. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave for 30 – 60 minutes in a warm, dry spot
  6.  Once doubled in size, divide the dough into two portions and flatten
  7. Brush the dough with extra virgin oil and sprinkle with remaining chopped fresh rosemary, crushed olives, cherry tomatoes and sea salt
  8.  Leave to rise for about 20 minutes
  9. Fire up your wood fired oven then allow to cool to 180-220°c
  10.  Cook your focaccia until golden in colour (approx. 20 minutes)
  11.  Once cooked, remove and brush with some extra olive oil and let it rest for 10 minutes

More than just a pizza oven…

Your Alfresco Chef oven is more than just a pizza oven. If your looking for inspiration on what else you can rustle up in your oven, take a look at our bake and roast sections.