1 hr 10 mins plus proving
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
Now this is pizza like you’ve never seen it before. These gorgeous swirls are full of soft sweet veg, tangy pesto, melted cheese, and punchy olives bringing little flavour bombs to the mix.
Ingredients
500g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
½ a bunch of basil (15g)
150g mixed-colour cherry tomatoes
1 courgette
8 to 10 black olives (stone in)
100g red pesto
1 x 125g ball of mozzarella cheese
Top Tip
HELPFUL HACK
You could leave the dough unrolled, transfer to a baking tray and bake in the oven for a traybaked pizza.
EASY SWAPS
Mix it up with different melty cheeses; think Cheddar, red Leicester, or Gruyère. Whatever you have in the fridge, really.
Green pesto also works well here.
Experiment with different combos: smoked ham, grated cheese and a little tomato, or spinach, feta and pine nuts. Jarred peppers blitzed to a paste with garlic and nuts is also good.
You could easily make a sweet twister bread. Think jam, or honey and raisins, or chocolate spread and mashed banana. Or how about our hot cross bun twister bread?
EXTRA VEG
You can use up leftover roasted veg here. Roasted peppers, onions, aubergine, or squash would be delicious.
If you fancy a bit of heat, add a finely sliced fresh red chilli or a few sliced jalapeños to the veg mix.
ON THE SIDE
Enjoy a couple of swirls with a fresh green salad for a mega veg-packed lunch.
Method
- Place the flour in a large dough with a good pinch of sea salt. Pour 325ml of tepid water into a jug. Add the yeast and mix with a fork for a couple of minutes, until dissolved. Add a pinch of the flour and mix well, then pour the yeast mixture into the bowl. Use a fork to mix it all together until you can’t move it anymore – this will stop the dough sticking to your hands.
- Now get your clean hands in there and bring it together as a ball of dough, kneading and moving it around the bowl until the dough comes away from the sides.
- Transfer the dough to a flour-dusted surface and keep it moving, kneading, pushing and stretching it for 5 minutes, or until you have a silky and elastic dough.
- Use your floured hands to shape the dough into a rough ball, put it in an oiled bowl, and cover with a clean, damp tea towel. Allow it to prove for about an hour, or until doubled in size – ideally in a warm, draught-free place.
- Meanwhile, drizzle 1 tablespoon each of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar into a large bowl. Tear in the basil leaves, then halve the tomatoes and finely slice the courgette, adding them to the bowl as you go. Squash, destone and tear over the flesh of the olives and toss everything together gently with your hands.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out by punching it with your fist, then knead on a flour-dusted surface for 30 seconds, or until smooth.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about the size of a tea towel, then rub the red pesto all over the dough using your hands, spreading it out to the edges. Scatter over the courgette mix evenly and tear over the mozzarella.
- Roll up the dough lengthways, like a Swiss roll, wrapping all the lovely fillings inside, then with a sharp knife, cut into twelve chunks. Place the pieces close together, swirl-side up, in an ovenproof pan (about 26cm) or on a snug, oiled baking tray, then cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to prove again for 30 minutes to an hour, or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Bake on the bottom of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Turn the loaf out onto a board and allow to cool slightly before serving. Delicious!
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