Homemade Pizza

OK, who doesn’t like pizza? Wait, don’t answer that if you’re in the “no” category. “No” to pizza is beyond my grasp to understand. For all of you “yes” people, what is the secret to good pizza? One word: Homemade! So much better than store bought!

Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza is the best pizza because . . .

1. You get great satisfaction out of making something fabulous with your own hands.
2. You know the quality of the ingredients. 
3. You have all of the flavors YOU like.
4. You get to eat it hot out of your own oven. 
5. You didn’t pay some outrageous price. 
6. You’ll probably have a cocktail while you’re making your pizza and a cold beer to wash it down. Oh yeah!

Start With the Dough

Homemade pizza dough is easy to make and tasty to eat. Here are the ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt (I cook with coarse salt because it has more flavor)

Add any other spices you may want to flavor the crust such as garlic power, crushed rosemary, dried onions, red pepper flakes or other spices to suit your palette. Adding seasonings to your dough will greatly enhance the flavor of your pizza. 

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly and lightly knead to get an even mixture and smooth (not sticky) dough. If you have a food processor it really makes mixing the dough very easy. With the dough in a bowl, cover and let rest 10 minutes. 

OK, now you’re at a decision point. This recipe makes enough dough for two medium sized pizzas. So, if you only want one, split the dough ball in two and put one half in a zip lock bag and stick it in the freezer. The next time you’re craving pizza it’ll take about half an hour to thaw out on the kitchen counter.

Roll out your dough with a roller on a lightly floured surface and drop it into a lightly oiled oiled pan or just press the dough onto a greased baking sheet with your hands. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Bake at 425° for seven minutes to get the crust started and prevent your dough getting soggy from the sauce and toppings. 

Wait! What’s the Best Thing to Cook a Pizza on?

Now, this is a huge point of contention among homemade pizza chefs. Many will swear by using a pizza stone. Not me. I swear by cast iron. All of my pans are cast iron. They are like trucks — multi-purpose — they fry, they bake, they broil. They take a beating and always hold up. You’ll get a nice crisp, evenly baked crust on cast iron. Here’s a few options I have in my cupboard.

What Kind of Sauce Goes on Homemade Pizza?

What do you like? We like a mixture of chopped fresh garlic, pesto and olive oil. Traditionally a red sauce is found on pizza. There are many good options of jarred sauce at the grocery store. Here’s a quick homemade pizza sauce recipe:

• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp honey or sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika Spice for extra zing! (Optional)

Combine the tomato sauce and paste in a bowl and mix until smooth — with a whisk if you have one. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix throughly. Adjust flavor as your palette requires adding more seasoning if necessary. Making the sauce a hour or so early will allow the slices to “marry” giving you more flavor.

What Toppings Can Be Put on Homemade Pizza?

Any topping ingredients of your choice:

• Tomato slices spun in a salad spinner to release water content
• Kalamata olives, sliced and drained well
• Chopped salami, ground sausage, pepperoni slices, chopped sautéed chicken, diced ham, sliced shrimp — whatever protein you like
• Sliced onion
• Pineapple
• Fresh basil leaves

Really, whatever you like to taste as long as the flavors go together and you don’t over do it. Two or three toppings is good. Any more than that and you have a smorgasbord on your pizza — not good!

Which Cheese is Used on Homemade Pizza?

Mozzarella is the standard although I have sometimes used Jalapeño Jack. The goal here is to have a creamy cheese that melts well. Use chunk cheese and grate it yourself — it melts better. Pre-grated cheese from the grocery store includes cellulose to prevent caking in the bag. It also impedes the melting. And, who wants to eat cellulose? Not me! Eight to 16 ounces is usually good for one pizza.

And remember . . . the cheese goes on the top. It is the glue that holds your toppings on the pizza.

Build Your Homemade Pizza!

So, by now you’ve made your dough and baked it for the initial seven minutes. 

Add your sauce. Go slow. Better to start light and see if your crust is adequately covered than drown the crust in sauce to the point that it will be soggy after the final bake. 

Add your toppings. Make sure you’ve drained all toppings so they are as dry as possible. A salad spinner will get rid of extra juice from your pineapple or sliced tomatoes to prevent a soggy finished pizza. 

Top your pizza with the grated cheese. Make sure all edges and corners are covered so every square inch will be tasty. As an added flavor, at this point, I sometimes sprinkle  just a bit of grated Parmesan if I have some in the fridge for an extra tangy blast to my pizza. And I almost always lightly dust the top of the cheese with a little dried oregano.

Bake Your Homemade Pizza

Your oven should be pre-heated to 425°. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. I check it at 12 to 15 minutes to see if it needs more time or to spin the the pan in the oven in case one area of the oven is hotter than another area. Look for the crust edge to be golden brown and the cheese to start browning as well.

Eat Your Homemade Pizza

When finished, I slide my pizza onto a baking rack to cool so the crust doesn’t get soggy — maybe for about ten minutes. Then I slide it onto a cutting board. 

OK. If you have one of those pizza wheel cutters throw it away! Go to Amazon or a restaurant supply website and buy a pizza knife similar the one pictured here. This is 14 inches but you can get them larger. Your pizza will cut cleanly without ruining the cooling cheese.  

Now you’re ready to eat some of the best pizza you’ve ever had while living on the patio. And YOU made it! You’ve got cold beer, right?

Please Leave a Comment

Please post a comment below to tell us how this recipe worked for you or how you modified the recipe to fit your taste. What toppings did you use? What pan did you bake it on? Attach a photo of your pizza!

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