The best recipe for kids? Alice Zaslavsky’s traybake pizza

It’s a hands-on activity that is versatile, and tastes as delicious as it appears. It’s a great school holiday cook-up project for kids of all different ages; pizza is a great choice.

As I was a teacher in my former life and an advocate for food literacy in my present, as well as a parent today and for the rest of my life the time of school holidays are the ideal and most difficult time to discuss engaging kids in the kitchen.

The best part is that is there a better chance for students to develop skills in life, such as flexibility, resilience and curiosity? And let’s not forget the ability to eat themselves, and build up the ability to read and write by taking measurements or calculating ingredients and following directions (or developing the recipes themselves).

Mini Masterchefs How to get your children to join involved in the kitchen

The school holiday season is the most stressful time of year, as there’s yet another task you have to check off the to-do list in a period when the time is already exhausted. The last thing you want to feel like is another good-willer telling you about that your children should do something else or should do, when you’re trying to make dinner appear to the table.

Instead of putting off the start of things until they are perfect, or getting caught in the details of a project My advice for cooking with kids is to begin with a place starting with even the smallest help. The holidays at school are as great time to start as any, and not the most perfect and unique moment ever.

When deciding on a recipe that you can cook with your children, start with an area of comfort. It’s a safe, enjoyable area to play.

Pizza is the perfect food for everyone. Everything in this recipe is scalable upwards or downwards, based on the skills of your children. Sorting basil leaves, removing garlic, squashing tomatoes among (washed!) fingers, and putting them in a huge bowl to catch splashes are all great tasks for those who are just beginning. Make them push buttons, use oil tray and then roll out the dough, and then push it using the (washed!) fingertips. Children older than 10 can be trusted to cut off the mozzarella balls, and then portioning the slices using scissors.

Tricolore pizza al taglio (three-colour tray-bake pizza) – recipe

It’s always fun to play with for children it’s a little bit as edible playdough (or would I rather say, play-dough intended for eating). You can make a messy mess by putting newspaper onto the ground or avoiding it completely by using a stand mixer that has an attachment for a dough hook, or ensuring that your food processor is equipped with an affection for kneading with a blade made of plastic. If your oven doesn’t come with a high-sided 40cm 20cm oven tray, divide the dough in two and then make two smaller pizzas.

This recipe makes use of an uncooked, focaccia-like dough that’s incredibly flexible and has enough instant yeast to give you a rich, delicious puff. I tested mine by placing it on top of my coffee maker, but any warm place will suffice. Some ovens come with an option to prove, particularly the latest models. You can make it a slow proof by putting it in the fridge for an overnight time If you’d like, and breaking the recipe in two parts can be beneficial for children who are in elementary school or junior primary school age Their attention spans will only last for a short time.

Get ready for the event. The instant yeast in the dough makes a delicious puff. Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian

(You could even consider this as a learning moment about the farty yeast. “It’s eating the sugars in the mix and farting it out as gas, which helps the dough to rise,” you’ll tell them with a chuckle and gasps.)