How to Make Pizza at Home
Ranked #182 in Food & Cooking, #3,600 overall
Homemade Pizza is a Delicious and Easy Treat
This page will introduce you to the basics of making pizza at home: pizza-making tools, pizza ingredients, and basic recipes. From there, you can experiment and try your hand at all kinds of pizzas, from classical to creative. You don't need an expensive pizza oven to get started, though once you develop a passion for homemade pizza, you just might decide to make that your next home improvement project!
Photo: a simple homemade pizza of cherry tomatoes, cheese, basil and mushrooms. All pizza photos on this page taken by the author, sockii.
Contents at a Glance
Do You Love Pizza?
Pizza is one of the world's most favorite foods. How much do you enjoy pizza?
Nicole B. Henry
Essential Tools for Making Pizza at Home
What you'll need before you get started
Pizza Stones on eBay
A great place to find a deal on a quality pizza stone!
Pizza Peels on eBay
Check out the variety of sizes, styles and materials!
Essential Pizza Ingredients
Stop! Before you try to make pizza at home, make sure you've got the proper ingredients as well. It WILL make a difference!
Antico Molino Chef's Flour Tipo 00 Antimo Caputo
The absolute BEST flour for making pizza dough!
Of course, for some variety and different textures you can try a combination of flours: superfine, whole wheat, some might even add or use a little cornmeal for dusting. But start with pure Tipo 00 and learn the basic way to make pizza dough first before experimenting.
Antico Molino Chef's Flour Tipo 00 Antimo Caputo (Four 2.2 Lb Bags)
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 06/01/2012)
List Price:
You can order Antimo Caputo flour in various quantities; a four pack is good to start with and should be enough to make about 24 pizzas! Of course, I use so much of this flour I order it by the 10-pack so it will last me several months.
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Authentic Pizza Flour on eBay
Buy The Best In Bulk for Making Pizza at Home
Authentic San Marzano Tomatoes
If they don't say "D.O.P.", don't buy them!
Napoli San Marzano DOP Italian Tomatoes 28oz (6 Pack)
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 06/01/2012)
List Price:
Order your San Marzano tomatoes by the case to save money and for convenience. I used mine all the time, not just for pizza but for pasta sauces, soups, stews, casseroles and so much more.
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
My formula for success
- Serves: Makes 6 individual pizza dough balls
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
Lots of chefs have their own special or "secret" formula for pizza dough. This is how I typically prepare mine. It comes out consistently well and stores nicely when frozen. To use frozen homemade pizza dough, just take it out several hours before use to defrost and come up to room temperature before baking. NEVER try to defrost pizza dough in the microwave!
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour - preferably Italian superfine Tipo 00
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
In a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, combine yeast and water and mix until yeast is dissolved. Then add salt.
Add flour 2 cups at a time and mix at slow speed. Keep adding flour until dough is well kneaded and forms a firm (but not overly dry) ball, climbing up the hook.
Prepare a large bowl by coating it with olive oil. Turn out pizza dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and/or a slightly damp kitchen towel.
Allow dough to rise in a warm place (or an oven at "Proof" setting) for one hour. Dough should be approximately doubled in size.
Punch down dough and prepare a flat baking tray or cutting board by dusting it with flour. Divide the risen dough into six balls of equal size. Place each ball on the baking tray; cover each with a large square of plastic wrap and/or again the damp towel.
Allow dough to rise again for an additional 45 minutes. At this point, you're ready to make some pizza! If you are only going to make one or two pies at the moment, wrap up each remaining dough ball with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer (in freezer bags) until ready to use.
Making a Pizza, Step by Step
One ball of pizza dough, ready to rise for one hour.
Making a Perfect Margherita Pizza
Begin with the classic pizza recipe
Don't worry if your pizzas don't come out perfectly round at first - they'll still taste delicious!
This popular style of pizza was given its name in 1889 when during a visit to Naples, Queen Margherita of Italy was served a pizza prepared to showcase the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil). It has ever since been known as a Margherita pizza and is one of the easiest pies to first learn to make. You don't need many ingredients but it still takes some practice and skill to prepare properly. Here's how to do it.
Note that some will argue over which topping should be put down first: the cheese or the tomatoes. While tomatoes-first is more common, putting the cheese down first can help keep the crust from becoming soggy during baking. Try making it both ways to see which you prefer!
- Preheat your oven (with pizza stone in place) to 450 degrees F.
- On a flour-coated pizza peel, roll out (or hand shape) your dough ball to your desired thickness and size. Make sure there are no holes or overly thin spots!
- Lightly brush or drizzle the surface of the dough with extra virgin olive oil. Then, top with about 1/2 cup shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese (a truly authentic Margherita pie requires Buffalo mozzarella, which may be hard to come by unless you have an Italian specialty store near you. Quality, fresh regular mozzarella can be used as a substitute).
- Hand-crush and top your pizza with about 1/2 cup of San Marzano canned tomatoes. You may use more or less tomato depending on your tastes, but do not put too much on the pie - it will become soggy and may fall apart. Top with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Gently glide your pizza onto the heated pizza stone. A gentle shaking motion may help it slide easily off your peel and into the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, watching carefully for desired char and doneness.
- Carefully slide pizza peel beneath pie and remove from oven. Top with freshly torn basil leaves. Allow to stand for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Mangia!
The pizz-abilities are endless!
One of the best things about making pizza at home is experimenting with different toppings ideas and recipes. Be creative and have fun!
A Gallery of My Homemade Pizza Recipes
Some fun and tasty combinations I've created for myself
Add baby portobello mushrooms to a classic Margherita pie for a heartier, richer flavor.
Books on Making Pizza
Explore different recipes and ideas with these great cookbooks
More Pizza Cookbooks on eBay
Still looking for great pizza recipes?
Pizza Ovens and Appliances on Ebay
For countertops, ovens or outdoors
Sockii's Recipe Collection
What else is cooking in sockii's kitchen?
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Are You Ready to Make Some Pizza Now?
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to making your own pizza at home. Now why don't you start baking? What's your favorite homemade pizza recipe?
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SquidooMBA
May 27, 2012 @ 8:15 am | delete
- Great lens! We have the big Kitchen Aid mixer for our dough and use the wheat free Chebe bread pizza crust. We love it!
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Blessedmombygrace
May 26, 2012 @ 10:47 am | delete
- These look delicious. I love spinach and black olives on my pizza!
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WhiteSockGirl
May 26, 2012 @ 6:19 am | delete
- I actually made a couple of pizza before. But I always cheat,... I am lazy like that.
Gonna give your recipes a try!
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domjohnson
May 24, 2012 @ 1:15 pm | delete
- I've made pizza before and opinion on it was mixed. I loved it but not many other people did. It's quite tricky to get it right. I'm still practising it though and getting better at making it. :)
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genuineaid
May 24, 2012 @ 11:14 am | delete
- I've made couple pizza's before, and we all loved it :)
Pizza is an awesome meal!
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About the Author
by sockii
I'm a self-proclaimed Jane of All Trades who has written for numerous sites on-line including the Yahoo!Contributor Network, Demand Studios and Suite101.... more »
- 140 featured lenses
- Winner of 43 trophies!
- Top lens » Weight Watchers Points Plus: The Problem of 29
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Pizza on the Grill!
Great for summer parties and BBQs!
Eastman Outdoors 90414 BBQ ZaGrill's Pizza Pan
Amazon Price: $20.93 (as of 06/01/2012)
When the heat is on and you're enjoying the sunshine in the summertime, don't be stuck making pizza in the kitchen. With a pizza grill pan you can bring homemade pizza to the great outdoors.
