Dough Balls with Garlic Butter

I am of the opinion that if you go to Pizza Express for dinner, its pretty much the unwritten rule that you order the dough balls with garlic butter to start. Ben on the other hand thinks that, along with a pizza, this equals dough overload, and by the time I actually get to the main I’m pretty much full. Now this may be true, but he really can’t deny that dough balls are wonderful, especially with copious amounts of garlicky butter (or even Nutella).

So on Saturday night we found ourselves in dough heaven/hell, depending on your dough stance, with some big Hawaiian pizzas and plenty of dough balls to go with. Yum. I served mine with the King of all garlic butters, which consisted of not one but two cloves of raw crushed garlic. If you’re not so keen on the zing of a lot of garlic, and don’t want to repel all those within a 1 mile radius, perhaps opt for a more conservative one clove..

Makes enough for 2 greedy people

200g strong white bread flour

¾ tsp instant yeast from the tub

¾ tsp salt

¾ tbsp olive oil

a large wedge of softened butter

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1. Preheat the oven to 240C. Put the flour in a large bowl, and stir in the yeast and salt using a wooden spoon. Make a well in the centre and add 150ml of warm water and the olive oil. Bring together with the spoon until you have a fairly wet dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for around 5 minutes until smooth. You can leave the dough to rise under a tea towel in the bowl, but this is not essential.
3. Roll the dough into evenly sized balls and place on a baking tray. Place in the oven on the top shelf and bake for around 15 to 20 minutes, until the balls have puffed up and browned.
4. Meanwhile, soften the butter further with two forks in a small bowl before adding the crushed garlic and mixing.
5. Serve hot.