Add the flour, salt, and yeast to a large bowl. Mix well to combine.
Add most of the water and mix it in with your hands. It will form quite a sticky but workable dough. If the weather is very humid then it may not take all of the water.
The next step is the chef's choice. If you don’t want to knead the dough, that is fine. The result will be less chewy and airy but still perfectly enjoyable. The texture of the dough makes it easy to knead so pop on your favorite music and get stuck in. Place the dough on your worktop and knead it for ten minutes by stretching it out with the heel of your hand and folding it over. The soft sticky dough will come together into a smooth ball. Alternatively, you can mix it with a dough hook for five minutes.
Put the dough into a bowl and cover it with cling film or a tea towel. Pop it into the fridge to rise slowly overnight. This will help develop a nice flavor and means that you have dinner prepped for the next day.
The next evening, take the dough out of the fridge. Add the six tablespoons of olive oil to a 13 x 8 inch tray and spread it out. Pop the dough on top and try to stretch it out as much as you can. It won’t go fully and that is ok for now. Cover the tray, leave it somewhere warm, and forget about it for an hour.
To make the tomato sauce, place a saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the garlic. Allow it to cook until golden, then add the tinned tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano. Use a potato masher to squash the tomatoes into a smooth sauce. Allow the sauce to bubble on low heat for twenty minutes. Set aside to cool. Note: there are some excellent ready-made pizza sauces available at the moment, Ballymaloe Foods and Mutti both have really delicious ones.
Preheat your oven to 250C or as high as it can go and place a rack near the bottom of the oven.
By now, your dough should be soft and pliable. Use your fingertips to stretch it out into all four corners of the pan.
Top with your mozzarella cheese, blobs of your pizza sauce, a generous grating of parmesan, and your pepperoni.
Put the tray into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes. Cut the pizza into squares and serve with a generous scattering of fresh basil.
