The British garden has acquired a new status symbol. Somewhere between the barbecue and the increasingly optimistic outdoor sofa now sits a small, fiercely hot pizza oven, bought with visions of blistered crusts and Neapolitan summer evenings – even when the view is mostly drizzle and next door’s washing line.
Pizza-making has become a national hobby, complete with sourdough starters, infrared thermometers and strong opinions about flour. Yet the best homemade pizza need not involve importing volcanic stone or turning dinner into a three-day engineering project. Alice Norman’s recipes are built for a large baking tray and an ordinary domestic oven, with a dough that benefits from being made the day before but asks for relatively little attention once it is in the fridge.
Norman is the chef behind Pinch, a cafe and bakery on the regenerative and organic Maple Farm near Saxmundham in Suffolk. What began in 2021 as a pop-up serving coffee and freshly fried crullers became a permanent bakery in 2024, known for Roman-style pizza by the slice, pastries, gelato and a menu shaped by whatever is growing nearby. Its pizzas are baked in trays for a crisp base, then topped with ingredients chosen for flavour rather than excess.
That same approach runs through this collection. There is potato layered edge to edge with rosemary, courgette with marjoram and parmesan, sobrasada sharpened by chillies and hot honey, and a pissaladière-inspired version covered with jammy shallots, anchovies and black olives.
They are bold enough to feel special, simple enough to make at home and unlikely to leave an expensive oven gathering dust on the patio.
Pizza dough
Makes: 1 large pizza
Ingredients:
250ml ice-cold water
2¾g yeast
12g fine sea salt
40ml extra virgin olive oil
700g 00 flour (we suggest organic Shipton Mill, ordered online)
Semolina, for shaping
Method:
1. Put the flour in a mixing bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the water until incorporated, then mix for 2-3 minutes and turn off.
2. Leave the dough to rest for 20-30 minutes (this improves gluten development and makes the dough easier to work with).
3. Add the yeast and mix, then add the salt and mix again.
4. Slowly add the olive oil, then speed up the mixer and mix for 20-30 minutes, until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic and no longer sticks to the sides (check it hasn’t gone above 27C).
5. Transfer to an oiled container and refrigerate, flipping the dough after 2 hours and again after a further 2 hours.
6. Shape into a tight ball by folding the edges into the centre, flipping seam-side down, then rolling and dragging it on the counter to smooth it.
7. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, ideally 24.
8. To cook, preheat the oven to its highest setting (around 245C).
9. Oil a large baking tray (roughly 40cm x 30cm; cast iron is ideal).
10. Place the dough on a heavily semolina-dusted surface, dust the top too, and dimple it all over with your fingers without pressing too hard.
11. Gently stretch it to the size of the tray, then transfer it, pressing lightly into the corners without knocking out the air.
12. Then add your toppings…
Potato and rosemary
Ingredients:
3-4 large waxy potatoes, thinly sliced (Alouette are best, for their nutty flavour)
1-2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
Extra virgin olive oil
A generous handful of parmesan, finely grated
Flaky sea salt
Method:
1. Scatter half the rosemary over the dough. Cover completely with overlapping potato slices, right to the edges (the potato shrinks as it cooks, so any exposed dough will burn).
2. Scatter over the remaining rosemary, season with a large pinch of fine sea salt, then drizzle generously with olive oil.
3. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the tray, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the base is golden and the potato is cooked through.
4. Finish with parmesan, a pinch of flaky sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Slice and serve immediately.
Sobrasada and hot honey
Ingredients:
1 tin whole plum tomatoes
220g sobrasada (spreadable)
2 banana shallots, thinly sliced
2 mixed chillies (eg red chilli and jalapeño), thinly sliced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 tbsp hot honey
80g parmesan, finely grated
Fine sea salt
Flaky sea salt
Method:
1. In a bowl, crush the tomatoes with a spoon until smooth, adding 2 large pinches of fine sea salt for seasoning. Spread across the dough, leaving a border for the crust.
2. Spread the sobrasada on top of the tomato, scatter over the shallots, then the chillies, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the tray, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the crust is golden and the sobrasada has rendered at the edges.
4. Remove from the oven and drizzle generously with hot honey while still hot (adding it before baking will cause it to burn).
5. Finish with a generous sprinkling of parmesan, a pinch of flaky salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
6. Slice and eat immediately.
Courgette, marjoram and parmesan
Ingredients:
2 medium courgettes, thinly sliced (ideally on a mandoline)
2 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
80g parmesan, finely grated
Black pepper and flaky sea salt, for seasoning
Method:
1. Scatter half the marjoram over the dough, then cover completely with overlapping courgette slices, right to the edges.
2. Scatter over the remaining marjoram, season with pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake for 7 minutes, turn the tray, then bake for a further 5-7 minutes until the crust is golden and the courgette is tender with a little colour (it cooks faster than potato, so keep an eye on it).
4. Finish with a generous scattering of the parmesan, a pinch of flaky salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Slice and eat immediately.
Pissaladière-inspired
Ingredients:
5 banana shallots, thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra to finish
1 bay leaf
A pinch of fine sea salt
12 anchovy fillets
18 black olives, pitted
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over low heat. Add the shallots, thyme and bay leaf, and cook very gently for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft, jammy and deep golden; season with salt.
2. Discard the bay leaf and thyme stalks and leave the shallots to cool slightly. Spread them over the dough right to the edges, lay over the anchovies, dot with olives, and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake for 7 minutes, turn the tray, then bake for a further 5-7 minutes until the crust is golden (the topping is already cooked, so this stage is really just about the base).
4. Scatter with a few extra thyme leaves if you like, as well as a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Slice and eat immediately.
For more recipes and information about visiting Alice Norman’s bakery and cafe at Maple Farm in Suffolk, visit eatpinch.com.
