As lockdown social distancing measures look set to continue for some time, how long can you go without your favourite foods?

Luckily, many restaurants are coming up with new and inventive ways to overcome this. Some have turned to delivery services and collections, while others have come up with a third option.

For example, in addition to offering a takeaway service, award-winning Cardiff pizzeria Dusty Knuckle is offering a DIY at-home option.

In our household, we’re massive pizza lovers, especially of the wood fired and stone baked variety. So, when we heard Phill and Deb Lewis of Dusty Knuckle were launching these kits, we had to order one. This is how we got on…

Make your own Dusty Knuckle pizza

First things first, if you want to order your own pizza making kit, you need to be quick. They are proving hugely popular and delivery dates are limited. If you want one, act fast.

You can order the kits online. We ordered a margherita kit, which costs a very reasonable £10, enough for two pizzas and includes delivery (Cardiff, Barry and Penarth). There are other toppings and kits available up to £18.

When you place your order, you select a date and the kit that you want. On the day of delivery, you are giving a rough time slot.

The ingredients arrived fresh and prompt.

The kit came complete with two Dusty Knuckle pizza dough, san Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte (mozzarella) and fresh basil. Instructions are also included.

There are 12 steps to Dusty Knuckle perfection:

Don’t forget to use plenty of flour to avoid the dough sticking

Step 1. Scrape the dough out of the container and into a ball

Step 2. Put the dough ball onto a well-floured surface

Step 3. Using your fingertips, press out the dough ball firmly, starting at the centre and working out to the edge

Step 4. Turn the dough ball over and repeat the pressing out process on the other side

Step 5. Using the palm of your hand, do one firm push in the centre of the dough ball to ensure the thickness of the base is consistent

NOTE – it turns out the secret steps are harder than thought, so we gave up and used a rolling pin. Sorry guys, we tried!

Step 6. [secret step, details removed]

Step 7. [secret step, details removed]

Step 8. You should now have a disc of dough around 10 inches in diameter, consistently thin but with a slightly thicker rim. Place the prepared pizza dough into a frying pan or a baking sheet if cooking in the oven

Step 9. Using a spoon put the tomato sauce supplied in the centre of your dough to the rim only, top with the mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil

Step 10. Turn your grill on full heat, and heat a non stick frying pan (do not use any oil). Place on a high heat until the base cooks

Step 11. [secret step, details removed]

Step 12. If using a oven place your baking sheet in the oven on a high heat for approximately 10 minutes

I’ve purposely not put the instructions in full, so not to giveaway any Dusty secrets… if you want to know, you’ll just have to buy your own kit. Sorry folks.

The results…

This was our first attempt at making our own Dusty Knuckle pizza

Our second attempt was much better. The tomato sauce is absolutely amazing and although it may not look exactly like a Dusty Knuckle pizza, the flavours were there.

Although we had to make some adjustments along the way, it was great fun and we ended up with two incredibly tasty pizzas. Clearly there is more to this pizza making business than what meets the eye, so I can’t wait to order a ready made pizza.

Their hugely popular assemble at-home pizza kits are available to pre-order for home delivery via https://dusty-knuckle-pizza.myshopify.com/.