The Christening of 2 Gifts - Kenwood Patissier and Bourke Street Bakery

Do you ever get the feeling you've just stuffed something up? And wonder if it's too late to fix it or just be positive and "will" it to be okay?

Well my Dad bought me the most gorgeous Recipe Book for Christmas - "The Bourke Street Bakery". 365 glossy pages of pure food porn. Sharing every delicious, detailed recipe that has made said bakery the foodie landmark we all know and love.

So I'm loath to blame the book and much more willing to blame my own aversion to reading recipes all the way through before diving headfirst into them.

In this instance I think that the reason for my downfall was a mere tablespoon of sugar.

Today I decided to Christen 2 gifts with one recipe - my Kenwood Patisierre and the Bourke Street Bakery - by using my beautiful Mixmaster to whip up one of their Pizza Dough recipes. I'm not being completely lazy - the recipe clearly called for a Mixmaster... and I wasn't letting that instruction go to waste.

However, in my autopilot and excitement to get the yeast ready (you know - yeast, warm water, sugar...) I failed to read the bit that said: "We created a pizza base with a thin, crispy, subtle base by removing the ferment."

I didn't read that, most important, bit until I had already added the sugar... and wondered desperately if it was the sugar that caused the ferment?? Probably not, I consoled myself. Press on! I encouraged myself - it's just a little bit of sugar!

So whether it was the sugar, or whether it was the recipe, or whether the stars just weren't aligned right...I don't know - but my base was not thin, was not crispy and was not subtle. Mine was decidedly thick, puffy and yeasty. If I had of been in the mood - this would have made the best foccacia ever. But I wanted Pizza... thin, crispy, subtle pizza... and this was an EPIC FAIL.

So dear Reader? Do you think it was the sugar that caused my puffy demise???

Pizza Dough:

600g Strong Flour
15g Sea Salt
20ml Olive Oil
15ml Milk
410ml Water
10g Yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bowl of your Mixmaster (see, I told you!!). Mix on low speed for 2 minutes and then increase to high speed for 7 minutes until dough is silky and coming away from the sides of the bowl.
Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm, place in a warm area for 20 mins and allow to prove.
Divide dough into 2 balls and roll out on a floured surface to fit your pizza tray. (The recipe says it makes 2 regular sized pizza bases - mine made 3 super puffy bases...)

Top with your favourite ingredients and cook at 220C for approx 10 minutes.

Tonights toppings:
Pepperoni, Mixed Olives, Bocconcini
Chorizo, Slow Roasted shallots, Bocconcini
Slow Roasted Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini

I think I'm going to try it again. And this time I'll make sure there's no sugar in sight...