Makes 4 pizza
Ingredients
For the pizza dough
- 400g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp fast action dried yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 240ml lukewarm water
For the topping
- 100–120g thinly sliced venison salami or other good English charcuterie
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for trickling
- 2 large onions, halved and finely sliced
- 2 ripe but firm pears, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch thyme
- 150g blue cheese
- 100g mature Cheddar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Make the pizza dough. Place the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and water and mix everything thoroughly until it forms a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until soft and smooth. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook for this part.
Shape the dough into a rough round and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1–2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the topping. Place a large, heavy based pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and, when it’s hot, add the sliced onions and half the thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onions slowly over a gentle heat, stirring regularly, for about 25 minutes. They should be very soft without colouring too much.
Heat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan and place a large baking sheet in the oven to get properly hot.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then cut it into 3 or 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a neat round and leave to rest for about 20 minutes.
When you’re ready to bake the pizzas, roll out one piece of dough quite thinly. Don’t worry if it’s not especially round. Carefully transfer it to a piece of baking parchment.
Spread some of the softened onions over the base, leaving a small border around the edge. Sprinkle over some of the Cheddar and crumble over some of the blue cheese. Lay a few thin slices of pear over the cheese, then arrange some of the venison salami over the top. Scatter over a few thyme leaves, season with black pepper and trickle with a little olive oil.
Carefully slide the pizza, still on its parchment, onto the hot baking sheet. Bake for 10–14 minutes, until the dough is puffed and golden around the edges and the cheese is bubbling.
Slide the pizza onto a board and serve while hot. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
