Everyone loves pizza, and there’s something truly special about creating your own from scratch. Forget delivery and dive into the rewarding experience of homemade pizza. This guide will walk you through each step of How To Make Pizza, from crafting the perfect dough and flavorful sauce to choosing irresistible toppings and baking it to golden perfection. Whether you’re planning a fun family dinner, a casual get-together with friends, or simply craving a satisfying meal, homemade pizza is always a winning choice.
Over the years, we’ve explored countless pizza variations, from vegan delights to farmer’s market creations and even unique fruit combinations. But there’s nothing quite like mastering the fundamentals – knowing how to make pizza dough and sauce from the ground up. In our kitchen, pizza night is a cherished tradition, a time for collaboration and shared enjoyment. While I usually handle most of the cooking, pizza preparation becomes a team effort, with everyone pitching in.
Homemade pizza is also my go-to for entertaining. Its universal appeal and customizable nature make it a crowd-pleaser. Setting up a pizza bar with various toppings allows guests to create their personalized masterpieces, adding a fun, interactive element to any gathering. Inspired by the philosophy of living deliciously and cherishing shared moments, I immediately thought of homemade pizza and the joy it brings to cooking with loved ones.
Taking time to disconnect from our busy lives and savor the simple pleasures – delicious food, good company, and shared experiences – is what truly defines living deliciously. For me, this also means embracing seasonal eating. Inspired by the vibrant produce at local farmers markets and our own backyard herb garden, I love to incorporate fresh, seasonal ingredients into my pizzas. While classic toppings like cheese and sausage are always an option, I prefer to celebrate the abundance of summer vegetables and herbs, creating exciting and flavorful combinations. Fresh basil, mint, and homemade pesto, generously sprinkled over a pizza, can elevate the taste to a whole new level.
Speaking of enhancing the pizza-making experience, quality kitchen appliances are invaluable. A good refrigerator keeps fresh produce at its peak, while a powerful rangetop is perfect for charring vegetables like red peppers, adding a smoky depth to your toppings. And a pizza stone in the oven ensures a perfectly crisp and golden crust. Even cleanup becomes effortless with a spacious dishwasher, making the entire process from preparation to enjoying the meal with guests a breeze.
Our Essential Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
While store-bought dough is convenient for a quick pizza night, crafting your own dough is a rewarding experience, especially when it becomes a collaborative kitchen activity. Making pizza dough together is a fun way to bond and create something delicious as a team. Typically, Jack takes charge of the dough, while I focus on preparing the toppings and sauce. The satisfaction of sharing a meal made together is truly special.
Our homemade pizza dough recipe relies on simple ingredients: all-purpose flour, yeast, a touch of sugar, warm water, salt, and olive oil. This combination yields a crust that strikes the perfect balance – crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and beautifully golden brown. It’s the foundation for an exceptional homemade pizza.
Creative Homemade Pizza Topping Ideas
Eating seasonally is a cornerstone of delicious living. While pizza is a year-round favorite, seasonal ingredients offer endless inspiration for exciting topping combinations. During warmer months, our herb garden is overflowing, and farmers markets are bursting with fresh produce like greenhouse cherry tomatoes. Using these seasonal gems as a starting point, I’ve developed three unique and flavorful pizza topping ideas:
- Margherita Pizza: A timeless classic featuring local cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil from the garden. This pizza is a celebration of simplicity, with juicy, slightly sweet flavors that are utterly irresistible.
- Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza: This vibrant pizza combines the freshness of mint and basil pesto with the smoky sweetness of homemade roasted red peppers and creamy Wisconsin smoked mozzarella. Garnishing with extra mint leaves adds an extra layer of freshness and visual appeal.
- Peach & Basil Pizza: For peach lovers, this pizza is a dream come true. The sweetness of ripe peaches pairs beautifully with fresh basil. Dollops of pesto, repurposed from the roasted red pepper pizza, add a savory depth and tie the flavors together perfectly.
Flavorful Homemade Pizza Sauce
To complement our seasonal toppings, a flavorful sauce is essential. For the roasted red pepper pesto pizza, pesto itself serves as the base sauce. For the peach pizza, a simple brush of olive oil on the crust allows the sweetness of the peaches to shine. However, for a classic margherita pizza, a vibrant red sauce is a must.
Our homemade pizza sauce recipe is incredibly simple yet packed with flavor. It features San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of dried oregano. Simply pulse these ingredients together in a food processor until smooth, and your sauce is ready to spread. We prefer not to cook the sauce before baking to preserve the fresh, bright flavors of the tomatoes and garlic. As the pizza bakes in the oven, the flavors meld and mellow beautifully, creating a perfectly balanced sauce without any stovetop cooking required.
Foolproof Tips for Perfect Homemade Pizza
Ready to embark on your pizza-making adventure? Before you begin, consider these simple yet crucial tips for achieving pizza perfection:
- Invest in a Quality Pizza Pan: The secret to a perfectly cooked crust lies in using the right pizza pan. You want a pan that distributes heat evenly, ensuring the crust cooks thoroughly on all sides, including the bottom. Many pizza enthusiasts swear by a pizza stone. To use a pizza stone, preheat it in your oven (ideally on a “stone” setting if your oven has one) while you prepare your dough and toppings. Then, quickly slide the assembled pizza onto the hot stone and transfer both to the oven for baking. The intense heat of the stone helps create a wonderfully crisp bottom crust.
- Keep Your Dough Properly Covered: As your homemade pizza dough rises, it’s essential to keep it covered. This traps moisture and prevents the dough from drying out and developing a crusty film, which can hinder its elasticity and pliability. Keeping the dough covered ensures it remains soft and easy to work with.
- Bake First, Garnish Later: Delicate, fresh toppings like herbs are best added after baking. The intense heat of the oven can cause them to wilt and lose their vibrant flavor. Instead, add fresh basil, mint, pesto dollops, and a drizzle of olive oil right before serving to maximize their freshness and flavor impact.
Delicious Side Dishes to Serve with Homemade Pizza
While homemade pizza, especially with a whole grain crust and plenty of vegetable toppings, is a satisfying meal on its own, a side dish can round out the dining experience. My go-to choice is always a fresh, seasonal salad. A simple green salad or arugula salad provides a light and refreshing counterpoint to the richness of the pizza. Often, I’ll even use leftover pizza toppings to create a flavorful and complementary side salad. Here are a few salad ideas that incorporate common pizza toppings:
- Classic Caprese Salad (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil)
- Roasted Red Pepper and Arugula Salad
- Peach and Basil Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Happy pizza-making! Enjoy the process of learning how to make pizza and the delicious results!
Homemade Pizza Recipe
Rate this recipe: 5 from 30 votes
Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Serves 3 to 4 per pizza
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Jack and I love making this homemade pizza recipe together – one person makes the dough while the other preps the toppings. It’s also great for entertaining because guests can customize their final meals.
Ingredients
Margherita Pizza
- Heaping ½ cup pizza sauce
- 8 ounces fresh bocconcini mozzarella, sliced
- ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- Red pepper flakes
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Peach & Basil Pizza
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½ garlic clove, minced
- 8 ounces fresh bocconcini mozzarella, sliced
- 2 ripe peaches, sliced
- 3 tablespoons pesto
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- Red pepper flakes
Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza
- Pesto, for spreading & dolloping
- 1½ cups grated smoked mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup sliced roasted red peppers
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- Red pepper flakes
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F.
- Margherita Pizza: Spread the pizza sauce onto the dough. Top with the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil leaves and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
- Peach & Basil Pizza: Combine the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Brush the garlic oil onto the dough, then top with the fresh mozzarella and peaches. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven. Dollop the pesto onto the pizza, then top with the basil and pinches of red pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
- Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza: Spread a thin layer of pesto onto the dough. Top with the cheese and roasted red peppers. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven. Top with dollops of more pesto, the mint leaves, and pinches of red pepper flakes.
