Dough

• 185 ml(6 fl oz/¾ cup) warm (comfortable to your fingers) water
• 12 g(½ oz) fresh yeast, crumbled, or 7 g(¼ oz) active dry yeast
• ½ teaspoon honey
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 300 g(10½ oz) bread flour

Topping

• 250 g(9 oz) fresh stracchino cheese
• 170 ml(5½ fl oz/⅔ cup) milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the dough, put the water, yeast, honey and oil in a large bowl with a fistful of the flour. Mix with electric beaters until smooth. Cover and leave for 30 minutes or so until it all froths up and looks foamy on the top. Add the rest of the flour and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix well with your hands — it will be very soft, but try to work it without adding more flour. If it’s too soft to knead, just slap it around in the bowl for a few minutes until it starts to feel elastic. Cover the bowl with a couple of cloths and leave it in a warm and draught-free place for about 1½ hours, or until the dough has puffed up well.

Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Lightly brush a 30 cm (12 inch) round, square or rectangular baking tray with olive oil. Punch down the dough to flatten it and divide it in half to make two bases, or freeze half.

Spread the dough out gently on the tray to give a thin even base. If it won’t stretch easily, leave it to relax for 5 minutes and then gently stretch it out with the palms of your hands, starting from the centre.

For the topping, put the cheese, milk and oil in a blender or processor and pulse until smooth. Gently spread over the top of the dough, almost to the edge but leaving a small border. Turn this border in and over the cheese topping. Bake for 20–25 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven) until the top is quite deep golden in various places. Remove and cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares. Eat warm.