Some Days A Guy Just Needs A Bit Of Filth In His Life

After what felt like a particularly long week at work, and some fairly healthy eating during said week, I decided to treat myself to a little bit of filth over the weekend. Saturday morning I made a full on cooked breakfast of a couple of Cumberland sausages with fried mushrooms, stewed balsamic tomatoes, fried eggs and a pot of honey sweetened Scottish breakfast tea. Lunch was a large bag of Burt’s roast beef flavoured crisps. Dinner was a homemade, including the base, ham and mushroom pizza with a bottle of beer. And I finished off the day with half a Terry’s dark chocolate orange and a small glass of whisky.

Who Doesn't Love Pizza?

It’s Monday night, it was my first day back at work after a week off and I'm in desperate need of a pick me up, so there’s literally no better time for homemade pizza.

For the base you will need:
1 tbsp dried baking yeast
200ml warm water
250g bread flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caster sugar

Method:
1. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water and allow to stand for about 10 minutes, until the yeast has turned the water creamy.
2. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients with the yeast mixture and stir well to combine. Continue to mix until a stiff dough has formed.
3. Cover with a towel or cling film and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
4. Turn out the dough onto a well floured surface, form into a round ball, roll out into a pizza base shape and allow to stand for about 10 minutes.

For the sauce you will need:
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 carton (500g) of passata
1 tsp italian herb mix

Method:
1. Add the oil to a small sauce pan over a medium heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic and allow to cook for about 1 minute.
3. Stir through the tomato puree and cook for a further minute.
4. Add the passata and herbs, bring to the boil and allow to simmer, stirring regularly, until reduced by half.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool before using.

Notes:
Ladle out the sauce onto the pizza base and spread with the back of the spoon, cover with your choice of toppings and bake in a 200°C preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and crispy.

Not Really A Review: Baked In Brick, Digbeth

It was a pizza kind of weekend and thanks to Baked in Brick in Birmingham, who served up some of the best pizza I’ve ever had, I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Although not officially open yet, over the weekend they were offering a taster menu and, if this is anything to go by, I really can’t wait to see what the full menu has to offer.