There are a lot of new challenges students face as they head off to university and for some, one of the biggest concerns is cooking for yourself everyday. I don't see myself as a food connoisseur by any means but I do think I'm capable in a kitchen and can create some simple yet delicious meals that don't break the bank and are pretty healthy. If you watched my university haul way back when, you may remember me raving about my student cookbook, which I am still impressed with and look forward to using but so far, all the meals I've created have been from my own head, so I thought it might be interesting and helpful for other students if I shared some of these. Today, I have my homemade pizza recipe, which I learnt from my mum but more recipe posts will follow in the future, so keep your eyes peeled if you're looking for food inspiration!

Forget the takeaways which may be delicious but aren't that great for you or your bank. Instead, why not create your own pizzas which in my opinion, taste a million times better, don't cost as much and are healthier for you. This recipe makes two pizzas so you can either make one for a friend or put the extra one in the fridge for the following day or in the freezer for another day.

The Base

Ingredients
1 cup of white flour and 2 cups of wholemeal flour OR 3 cups of whatever flour you wish to use (if opting for wholemeal flour, it's best to include one cup of white flour as well to get the best base)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive/sunflower/coconut oil- any of your choice- if going for coconut oil, melt a bit first and measure a tablespoon of melted coconut oil rather than the solid form
1 cup of lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of yeast

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl apart from the water.
Knead the ingredients together, adding a bit of water at a time.
Knead until the ingredients are all mixed in and form a ball of dough.
Leave the dough in a bowl with a tea towel over the top to prove for 30 minutes. Feel free to leave it a bit longer if you prefer a thicker base.

The Sauce

Ingredients
Tinned Tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Herbs
Pepper
Salt
Chilli (optional)

If you prefer, you can use a bought tomato sauce or simply tomato puree on your base but for me, this sauce tastes so much nicer and has more flavour than any others I've tried.
Drain the excess juice in the tinned tomatoes then heat the rest of the tin in a saucepan.
Add a tablespoon of tomato puree or however much you would like to add to get the desired consistency (I skipped this step as I don't like tomato puree that much so didn't want to buy any unnecessarily and it worked out fine without).
Add a few herbs and seasonings of salt and pepper to give the sauce some more flavour and if, like me, you like a bit of spice on your pizza, add a few chillis either dried or fresh to give it a kick.
Take off the heat.

Making The Pizza

After waiting for your dough to prove, sprinkle some flour on a clean surface.
Take half of your dough and place it on the flour covered surface. Sprinkle more flour over the dough to prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin.
Roll out the dough evenly in different directions to create a circular base (or rectangular if that's the shape of pizza tray you have to hand).
Place on the pizza tray.
Repeat this step if making both pizzas at the same time or place the other dough ball in cling film (you may want to sprinkle flour onto the cling film first to prevent it from sticking) and place in the fridge or freezer.
With the base on the tray, evenly spread half of the tomato sauce and place the rest in a container, then place in the fridge once cool.
Add a layer of grated cheese of your choice.
Cover with whichever toppings you like or have in your cupboard, personally I love a good mushroom and pineapple pizza but whatever takes your fancy.
Add a bit more grated cheese on top until its as cheesy as you like it.
Place in the oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I love when my pizza is crispy so I tend to leave it a bit longer for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and bon appetite!

I hope this has given you a possible recipe idea and that you enjoy both the making process and the outcome should you try it yourself. I have a few more student friendly recipes that I'll be uploading in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for those. If you enjoyed this and want to see more from me, you can follow my social media links to be notified when I upload. Thank you for reading this post.

Love, Steph x