I can’t go to a pizzeria and order a pizza because most pizzas have cheese on them, and sometimes even the dough contains milk. But luckily it’s so easy to make homemade pizza – and I can have any toppings I like on it! I normally use this simple, sugar-free, pizza dough recipe which makes two pizzas:

You’ll need:

• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp fast action dried yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• 200 ml warm water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

How to make the dough

1. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl. Let it rest for a couple of minutes.
2. Sift together the flour and salt, then make a well in the centre. Add the oil and the yeast mixture, then combine with a wooden spoon. You should get a stretchy dough –  if it’s not, add more flour, if it’s too dry, add more water.
3. Put the dough onto a clean, floured surface and knead it for a few minutes until you get a smooth dough.
4. Put the dough into a big, clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in size – this should take about 30 minutes.

How to make the pizzas

1. Heat the oven to 200°C.
2. Divide the dough into 2 pieces for two large pizzas or 4 pieces if you want smaller pizzas. Put them on an oiled surface or on a big sheet of baking paper. Pat them out into rounds or shapes of your choice (like heart, rectangular, bear face, star, egg, banana etc). If you want a nice outer crust, roll the edges back a little.
3. Place them on a greased baking sheet (Tip: you can sprinkle a little cornmeal (polenta) on the sheet to prevent the dough from sticking).

Topping

1. Spoon some tomato-based pizza sauce on top of the pizzas (homemade or shop-bought). I like using my mum’sbasic tomato pasta sauce, but you don’t have to cook or buy special pizza sauce, you can use simple, tinned Passata or even ketchup! Make sure that you spread the sauce evenly, up to the crust.
2. Now you can add your favourite toppings – even creating patterns and faces with them! I like making bear faces using olives and sliced eggs! On my pizza I like to have red pepper slices, olives, sliced onion, corn kernels, pepperoni or seafood –  but you can add other ingredients like ham, grilled chicken, mushroom, peas, spinach and fruits like pineapple or peaches.
Cheese: I can’t have any cheese on my pizza, but when I make pizza with my friends we add Mozzarella pieces or grated Cheddar on theirs. My mum likes goat’s cheese on hers!
3. Now you’re ready to bake the pizzas! Ask an adult to put the tray in the preheated oven and bake the pizzas for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden. Ask an adult to check regularly and to take the tray out when the pizzas are ready.

How to  serve pizzas

• Let the pizzas cool in the tray for a couple of minutes, then carefully move them to plates and cut them into wedges with a pizza-cutter. I like putting ketchup on top of mine.
• Serve the pizzas with some slaw, gherkins or salad of your choice.
• Eat them warm – cold pizzas are not nice!