Description
Here’s the only homemade pizza recipe you need! Learn how to make the best pizza dough, sauce, and toppings. For the topping ideas, see the recipes list above.
Ingredients
Scale
For the pizza dough
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough (or go to Cast Iron Pizza, Sheet Pan Pizza, or Pizza Oven Dough)
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting
For the pizza sauce (use 1/3 cup for topping)
- 1 small garlic clove (1/2 medium)
- 15 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes (or high quality organic canned tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Scant ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the toppings — or use topping ideas from 25 Top Pizza Recipes
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 2 to 3 ounces goat cheese, in dollops)
- Parmesan cheese, for topping
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (These takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Make the pizza sauce: Peel and cut the garlic into a few rough pieces. Place the garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until fully combined. (You’ll use about 1/3 cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
- Prepare the dough: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!)
- Stretch the dough (Best Pizza Dough): For the Best Pizza Dough recipe, stretch the dough into a circle: place the dough on a lightly floured surface and dust the top of the dough with flour. Use your fingers to gently press the dough into a circle, flipping several times and adding a pinch of flour if it is too sticky. Once you have about an 8-inch circle, pick up the dough and gently drape it over the knuckles on both of your hands. Slowly rotate it around, allowing gravity to stretch it into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. If the dough starts to resist stretching, put it down and allow it to rest for a few minutes, at which point it will stretch more easily. Then repeat Step 3 until you have an 11-inch circle! See How to Stretch Pizza Dough for step by step photos.
- Roll the dough (Thin Crust Pizza Dough): If you’re making Thin Crust Dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a circle, adding a pinch of flour if it is too sticky. Then roll out the dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter, using just enough flour on each side to keep it from sticking. If the dough starts to resist rolling, wait for a minute or two, at which point it will roll out more easily.
- Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/3 cup. Add the mozzarella cheese (and if using, goat cheese or other types of cheese). Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil leaves on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.
Notes
The Cast Iron Pizza and Sheet Pan Pizza methods are easier because they don’t require stretching the dough, but they take slightly longer. All you need are a large cast iron skillet or 13×18 sheet pan; you can use the same toppings as above. For dough and baking instructions, go to Pan Pizza or Sheet Pan Pizza. If you’re using an outdoor pizza oven, go to Pizza Oven Dough.
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pizza
- Diet: Vegetarian
