How to Make Really Good Pizza at Home Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Pizza is a quick and easy meal to make any night of the week.

Pizza is a regular visitor to our house, only it doesn't usually come in the form of a delivery person. Making homemade pizza from prepared dough is a quick and easy dinner any night of the week. Even making your own dough only really adds a few minutes to the prep time! Pile on your favorite toppings and get ready to chow down.

My favorite method for shaping the pizza is to roll the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. The dough sticks to the parchment, making it easier to work with and easier to transfer into the oven. The pizza will release from the parchment during cooking and the parchment can be removed halfway through cooking. The parchment darkens in the oven, but doesn't burn or catch fire.

If you'd prefer not to use parchment, take a look at Method #2 or #3 below.

There are also no rules about the kinds of toppings you put on your pizza. Choose ones you love. They will cook a little in the oven, but if it isn't something you like to eat raw, like sausage or mushrooms, allow some time to cook them ahead of time. If you'd like fresh greens like arugula or basil on your pizza, sprinkle them over the pizza right when it comes out of the oven. The residual heat from the pizza will wilt the greens just slightly and bring out their flavor.

It's best, though, to keep the toppings to just a handful at most. If you load homemade pizza down with a ton of toppings, it may take too long for the crust to cook well.

Pile on the cheese or keep it all veg for a healthier mid-week meal, it's all up to you. Play around with this basic recipe and make it your own.

How to Make Pizza at Home

Makes two 10-inch pizzas

What You Need

Ingredients
1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade
1/2 to 1 cup sauce: tomato sauce, white sauce, or other spread
2 to 3 cups other toppings: sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, pepperoni, cooked sausage, cooked bacon, diced peppers, leftover veggies, or any other favorite toppings
1 to 2 cups (8-16 ounces) cheese, shredded or sliced: mozzarella, monterey jack, provolone, fontina, or any other favorite.
Cornmeal or flour (optional)

Equipment
Pizza stone or baking sheet
Pizza peel or baking sheet
Parchment paper (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the Oven to 500°F or Higher: Don't be afraid to really crank the heat up to its highest setting. The high heat will help make a crunchier and more flavorful crust. Let the oven heat for at least a half an hour before baking your pizzas. If you have a baking stone, place it in the lower-middle of your oven.

2. Divide the Dough in Half: One pound of dough makes two 10-inch pizzas. Slice the dough in half and cover one half with an upside-down bowl or a clean kitchen towel while you prepare the first pizza.

3. Roll Out the Dough:

Method #1: Pizza Baked on Parchment:
Tear off a large piece of parchment paper roughly 12-inches wide. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, form it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the parchment paper. Work one piece of the dough in your hands, form it into a large disk, and lay it on the peel. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick or less. If the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest for five minutes and then continue rolling.

Method #2: Pizza with Cornmeal or Flour and a Baking Stone:
Sprinkle a handful of cornmeal or flour on a pizza peel or the back of a baking sheet. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, form it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the peel. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick or less. Shake the peel or baking sheet frequently as you shape to make sure the dough isn't sticking. If the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest for five minutes and then continue rolling.

Method #3: Pizza Baked on a Baking Sheet:
Brush a thin film of olive oil on a baking sheet. Working with one piece of the dough at a time, form it into a large disk with your hands and lay it on the baking sheet. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick or less. If the dough starts to shrink back, let it rest for five minutes and then continue rolling.

4. Top the Pizza: Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of the pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges. Pile on all of your toppings.

5. Bake the Pizza: Using a pizza peel or the backside of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (with the parchment or with the cornmeal) onto the baking stone. If you don't have a baking stone, bake the pizza right on the baking sheet. Cook for 5 minutes, then rotate the pizza. Slide the parchment out from under the pizza, if used. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese looks toasty.

6. Slice and Serve: Let the pizza cool slightly on a cooling rack, just until you're able to handle it. Slice it into pieces and serve.

Additional Notes:

• How to Make Pizza on the Grill: Great for a smoky flavor and extra-crispy crust.

• Pizza on the Stove Top: Try this method when you don't want to heat up the kitchen.

Pizzas to Try at Home:

• Classic Margherita Pizza (pictured)
• Pizza with Crispy Kale, Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Smoked Mozzarella (pictured)
• Sweet Potato, Ricotta, and Arugula Flatbread (pictured)
• Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza
• BBQ Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions

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(Images: Emma Christensen)

Comments (16)

If you don't have a pizza stone, I'd suggest actually baking your pizza on the underside of a baking sheet (one that has edges, not a flat one). It works much better than the normal side!

I love homemade pizza so this post is super helpful!

For those of us who sadly can't eat gluten, is there a flour your can substitute to make this?

You can also roll your crust out on a piece of parchment paper and slide it into the oven using a pizza peel or the like. The parchment will keep the crust from falling through but still allow for a wonderfully crisp bottom!

I've been making pizza at home for 25 years and find it easiest to slide a naked pizza onto the hot stone with a cookie sheet with no sides. I just use a little cornmeal and work fast because if the dough sits for more than a minute after rolling it out it will stick. I leave the untopped pizza in the oven for about 2 minutes, remove it and then top it with veggies, cheese, etc. The firmer partially cooked bottom makes it's easier to top it and return it to the oven. I got so tired of pieces of cheese and toppings flipping off the pizza while trying to position it in the oven. Or the dough flopping over on itself. This way it's no muss no fuss. And I can top it a with more goodies!

@HelenJ - Try subbing the flour with your favorite gluten-free flour blend. Gluten Free Girl also has a well-reviewed recipe on her site:

http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-pizza-2/

Other gluten-free readers want to chime in with recommendations?

Link to recipes for these pizza toppings? One looks like it might be butternut squash and bacon... yum! I would love to see more.

Looks like pizza steels are starting to replace pizza stones among serious home pizza makers. They produce a superior crust.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/10/the-pizza-lab-baking-steel-lodge-cast-iron-pizza.html?ref=title

@MCB - You got it! Links to the pizzas pictured have been added. (The top photo is a version of the margherita pizza with some leftover bacon and smoked mozzarella cheese.)

We've been using a pizza stone to bake pizzas for quite a few years. I don't fool around with sliding the pizza onto the stone though, I build my pizza on the stone and then bake it in a really hot oven. If the stone is cold (my first pizza of the night) it takes about 13 minutes to bake, if the stone is hot (my second or third of the evening), the time reduces to 8-10 minutes. I also take the pizza out of the oven on the stone and leave it there while we're consuming it. The stone helps keep the pizza warm. The manufacturer of the stone I use actually recommended these steps when I bought the stone. They also suggested using a tablespoon of olive oil under the pizza dough - it helps to make a nice crispy crust that doesn't stick - no peel, no paper and no cornmeal required.

You haven't mentioned the part of the pizza I think is key - the sauce needs to be really good. For a quick, spicy sauce, we take 1 can of tomato paste, add 1 can of water, 5 cloves of garlic, quite a lot of red-hot sauce and a handful of basil.

My favourite toppings include ground veggie meat with added spices to make it taste like sausage without the fat, and broccoli - just chop it up and spread it over the pizza, frozen or fresh work equally well.

Carla, that is brilliant. I'll give it a try.

I use the pizza peel/stone method usually, but for a very quick weeknight affair I make the crust on a cookie sheet and bake it there. I go ahead and push it all the way to the edges. The crust turns out fluffier and less crispy -- kind of a deep dish style. It is very easy, tastes good, makes enough in one pie to feed my family of four + guests, and is a nice change of pace from the flatter kind. My kids love it. With the sides of the pan to help out you can really pile on the toppings.

How about brushing your pizza crust with really good truffle oil? It adds another flavor dimension to your amazing home-made pizza:-) http://7th-taste.com/2012/03/23/truffled-madrigal-pizza/

I am so excited to try out home made pizza base. In India I have not heard of the stone. I am going to try out on a round big flat baking plate used for apple crumble.
Will someone help me with the proportion of flour , yeast.
Also I hear wet yeast gives better results than dry yeast.

Ive made pizza in a cast iron skillet before and it turned out pretty good.

Pizza on the old barbecue is really good, for another way of cooking at home. I would have to disagree with rolling the dough, though. Scott from Scott’s Pizza Tour in New York (http://www.scottspizzatours.com/) will tell you that makes for “cracker pizza” and he’s pretty much the world authority on pizza. Just buy Italian flour or find another low protein flour that won’t be super springy. On a light dusting of flour the dough can be pushed out to form a disk. That way you don’t roll all the air out of the bread. This is more of a Neapolitan way of doing it…they should know…pizza was invented there.

Over 40 years ago, the owner of a locally-famour pizza place hand-wrote his recipe out for my mother. To this day, it remains my favorite sauce--surprising for what it doesn't contain as well as what it does. It is simply a can of crushed tomatos, 2 TB tomato paste, oregano to taste, salt, pepper, olive oil and (drum roll) 1.5 or 2 TB of barbecue sauce. OpenPit basic is fine, as is Bullseye. Simmer for 1/2 hour and this is the best pizza sauce in the world. That tiny bit of barbecue sauce gives it a depth of flavor no one can place, but everyone loves.
My favorite toppings are chopped portobello mushrooms sauteed with garlic, a bit of sliced black olives, and a mix of whole milk mozarella and italian fontina cheese with a bit of parmesan. Sublime!