During lockdown, and because we couldn’t go out to eat, (which it turned out we did a lot) and once I’d finally got some flour and yeast, I started making pizza. It’s now a Saturday ritual. Mid-afternoon I start the dough, about 6pm I make the sauce, then we usually play Scrabble, then I make pizza. My sister was astonished that I’d never experimented with homemade pizza before. But I’d never needed to. We’d order in, or we’d go out to eat.

So the dough part is fairly standard, as is the sauce, but it’s the cooking of it that really sets it above other homemade pizzas.

So this is what you do. You need a 10 inch frying pan, heavy bottomed, good quality jobbie. Then you need to get the grill on, you need it hot. So heat up your frying pan, and get it as hot as you can. I don’t use oil in the pan, just dry and usually until it’s smoking hot.

At that point you put your rolled out or stretched dough into the pan. Then you add the toppings, sauce first, and then your toppings and cheese, or your cheese then toppings, it’s up to you. Once you’ve done this, get a spatula or fish slice and see what colour the bottom of your pizza is, it may need a little longer. Do bear in mind the cooking of this is pretty quick. As it starts to turn golden brown, take it off the hob (keeping it in the pan) and finish it off under the grill until the toppings are cooked through and your cheese is melty. It’s about 5 minutes from start to finish, possibly less. Take it out of the pan, put it on the bottom shelf of the oven and do the next one. We serve them on chopping boards because my dinner plates aren’t big enough.

Honestly, once you use the frying pan method you’ll never go back. Apparently it’s because proper pizza ovens get up to 450 degrees Celsius, which you don’t get in a conventional oven. The frying pan method makes the bottom is crispy, and it stays crispy as well. I was astonished. I’m not sure we’ll ever eat pizza in a restaurant again, and I certainly won’t be bothering with anything that comes from a supermarket.

This dough recipe makes 2 x 10 inch pizzas. Plenty for an adult, my husband eats all of his, I usually have to put a couple of slices aside for later.

300g strong flour

3g dry yeast – I use fermipan, its really reliable

125ml warm water

25ml milk

Pinch of salt

A couple of tablespoons of oil

Put all the ingredients, except the oil, into a bowl and bring together to form a dough.

Knead for 5 minutes

Put the oil in your bowl to stop the dough sticking

Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel

Wait 90 minutes

Knock back and then knead for another 5 minutes, until its silky again

Put the dough back in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel

Wait 90 minutes

Take it out, divide in half, knead only a little, and then roll out or stretch to shape.

I roll, because I’ve long nails and sharp rings and I don’t want to tear holes in my dough.