Thanks for both replies. It looks a little underdone which was deliberate as the low/no fat toppings (tomatoes, oregano, chillies and feta cheese) burn/char easily. But because it sits bare on the very hot stone base, the pizza base will cook quickly from the bottom up - you'll always get 'that crunch' sound when you cut through it.
There's no need to spend $150 for an oven, $50 to $70 will get you an effective one. The Mistral unit sounds interesting as the stone base rotates. There's another unit with a steel base that should be the last option.
There's plenty of recipes on the net, with mine being no different except I use some semolina flour (25%) with the cheap plain white flour as well. You can see in the pic how the base is textured at the sides - that's the semolina giving it that earthy look and bite.
'Combined flour' amount is 1 and a 1/4 cups per 11 inch pizza (the pizza in the pic was one and a half cups as I just made the one). A pinch of salt if you wish but not necessary (depends on the toppings).
Dry yeast is 1/2 teaspoon per pizza or a whole sachet for doing a few. I use Lowen's dry yeast that comes in a 280g container. Keep it in the freezer and it'll do you several years. You can add the yeast directly to the flour, or you do what I do and wake it up in about 150ml luke warm water mixed with a tablespoon of sugar. The yeast then will come alive and make a froth exactly like a nicely poured beer - from there I'll know it 'will work' in the dough. Add mix to the flour.
Add a dollop or 2 of oil. Add some water (cold/warm) and mix until a workable dough is achieved - go easy on the water until you have just enough. A machine will do a better job than your hands (I use a bread maker as it kneads for 20 mins to achieve an amazingly worked dough). Set aside for an hour or more in a warmish place with a t/towel over it. Once risen, cut your portions and knead and roll them into shape. Use flour so it won't stick to the tray. You can put the topping straight on, or wait another 20 mins for the laid out base to rise again for a superior and fluffy lift.
You don't need a machine, and suggest you use your home oven as a trial. If you've survived making pizza the first time and think it's 'worth' doing it again, then you can justify investing in one. Just a warning; it's not easy handling dough at first and it will be messy. But it's always worse the first few times until you become familiar with it all and once your hands develop the 'feel' to work and shape the dough.
Some of my mum's friends just throw the dough on the tray and push it out into shape with their hands or a jar. Whatever works is fine.
