Ultimate Pizza Recipe at Home | Dough, Sauce, Cheese & More

Pizza recipe | How to make pizza | Homemade pizza recipe

Craving cheesy, fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza? Making pizza at home is far easier than you might expect. After testing several versions, this easy and flavorful pizza recipe has become our family go-to. Once you try this, you’ll likely ditch your takeout menu for good. This guide will walk you through the complete process, from the perfect pizza dough recipe to crafting a rich sauce and loading on the cheese.

This basic pizza recipe got a change after I made it over and again for many years. I learned a lot of secrets and tips that make it easy to make the best at home. So I decided to add more suggestions and better, comprehensive instructions to this blog

What’s Inside This Recipe:

1. Pizza Dough Recipe: A light, chewy, tasty base that doesn’t taste too much like yeast.
2. Pizza Sauce Recipe: This one uses fresh tomatoes and herbs, which taste better than any store-bought sauce.
3. Putting it all together and baking it—step-by-step instructions for getting a golden, crispy crust in your home oven.

Bonus: A slow-rise dough method for better taste, less yeast, and improved digestibility.

So what’s new in my pizza recipe?

I also addressed about how to to make pizza dough with less yeast using the slow rise method, in addition to what I said above. This also adds additional flavor and makes the crust better.
I figured out that the secret to the best pizza crust is to use less yeast and let it rise for a longer time after making it a lot. Plus, it’s healthier because the dough rises for longer and is simpler to digest.

Preparation for pizza recipe

1. Let the yeast, flour, and sugar (or maple syrup) come to room temperature. I normally take all of these things out of the fridge an hour before I make the dough.
2. First, add half a cup of lukewarm water to a big mixing basin. Put your finger in the water to see if it is warm but not hot. The yeast will die in hot water, and the pizza dough won’t rise.

Water should be between 40 and 43 C (105 and 110 F) for the best results.If you reside in a place where it gets really cold, just warm up your bowl beforehand. Next, add warm water.

Proof yeast

3. Add 1 teaspoon (3 grams) of yeast to the heated water. You can use either fast yeast or active yeast. See the tips section below for further information. Add only 1/3 teaspoon of yeast (1 gram) if you want to use less yeast and let it rise slowly.
4. Put in 1 teaspoon of raw sugar or maple syrup. Don’t use white sugar that has been refined.
5. Gently stir it. Let this sit for 10 to 12 minutes without being disturbed.
6. The mixture has to get frothy and bubbling. It won’t get extremely frothy with quick yeast, but it will still bubble up a little bit and you can see the yeast rising up.

If you don’t get a frothy mixture, don’t use this yeast any more. It doesn’t do anything. So simply throw this away. Use new warm water, yeast, and sugar to start over. Repeat the steps from 1 to

Make Pizza Dough

7. After the yeast has foamed up, put 2½ cups of flour (300 grams), ⅓ teaspoon of salt, and 1½ tablespoons of olive oil into the mixing bowl. I used organic, unbleached all-purpose flour here. You can also use 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1½ cups of fine wheat flour.

7. Mix together all that to make a dough. You will need extra water, around 2 to 3 tablespoons. Add it a bit at a time until the dough is smooth, soft, and not sticky. You can add some flour if the dough is sticky.
8. Knead the dough for five minutes. Press the dough down with the heel of your hand against the kitchen surface or countertop, and then roll it over. Then, fold it. Do this for four to five minutes. The dough for the pizza should be soft toward the end, and when you poke it with your finger, it should dent and bounce back slowly. This means that the dough is ready.
9. 

Proofing dough

10. Make it into a ball and put a tiny layer of oil on it to keep it from drying out. You should also oil your dish.
11. Put a damp napkin or cover over the bowl. Let the dough rest at room temperature until it rises and gets twice as big. The best temperature for dough to rise is between 26 C (80 F) and 32 C (90 F).

The dough may take anywhere from one to four hours, depending on the temperature. I suggest that you don’t pay attention to the time and let it double in size.

I let it rise for about 8 hours near the window, but not in direct sunlight, because it had low yeast. Leave it in a warm area overnight when it’s cold outside.

If you live in a chilly place, you can proof the dough in the instant pot by setting it to “LOW.”

Make pizza sauce

12. Start by blending 400 to 500 grams of tomatoes into a puree. Put 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in a skillet and heat it up. Then add 2 cloves of garlic that have been chopped up very small (approximately a tablespoon). Fry the garlic for a minute or so, until it smells good. Then add a teaspoon of red chili flakes.
13. Add the tomato puree. Add  1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well.
14. 14. Partially cover the saucepan and let it boil until the tomatoes break down and become thick. At this point, be careful because the puree splashes a lot. Turn down the flame every now and again and combine well.
15. Add 1 teaspoon of Italian herbs and ½ teaspoon of crushed pepper when the mixture gets thick like sauce. Try this and add more herbs, pepper, or salt if you need to.
16. The sauce ought to be rich and easy to spread. If it is runny, the pizza will be soggy and damp under the cheese. Let this cool all the way down and put it in a jar if you want to use it later.

Prepare Veggies

17. Get the veggies ready and grate the cheese when you’re ready to cook the pizza. We just like onions, a lot of bell peppers, mushrooms, and olives. You can use any vegetables you choose.
18. Let the vegetables sit at room temperature for a few hours so they don’t make the pizza soggy by releasing moisture. If you use bottled olives, pour them into a tiny sieve.

How To Make Pizza (thin crust)

18. This is what the pizza dough will look like when it has doubled in size. The dough will rise more and have a lot of air pockets if you let it prove for longer.
19. Move it to the work surface and punch it down to get rid of the air bubbles and let it deflate.
20. Cut into 2 to 3 pieces, depending on how big you want them to be.
21. Knead them a little and shape them into balls. If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour and knead it. I prepared one pizza with a thin crust that was 9 inches wide and two pizzas with thick crusts that were 6 inches wide. You can also use this recipe to make three 9-inch thin crust pizzas or one 14-inch thin crust pizza.

I prepared one pizza that day and put the rest in the fridge for the next few days. I just covered it with cling film and put it in the fridge.

As the yeast dough ages in the fridge, the flavor gets a lot better. This lasts for three days. Let the refrigerated dough come to room temperature before you use it. This could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on where you live.

22. Preheat the oven to its highest setting, 220 to 240 C or 470 F, for at least 25 to 30 minutes before you see that the dough has relaxed and is ready to be stretched. Put a baking sheet or a cast iron pan on the middle rack of the oven and turn it on. This cast iron skillet or baking tray will help you get a pizza crust that is golden brown and crispy. To learn how to utilize a pizza stone, see the FAQs below.

If the dough is too sticky, add extra flour and knead it.

23. Spread some cornmeal evenly on a tray. Put a ball of dough on the table and flatten it with your fingertips. Put in a few drops of oil.
    Use your fingers to start spreading and stretching the dough on the tray. Make a base that is 9 inches thick and flat. Make the edges a little thicker than the center. I don’t use a rolling pin since it can make the pizza foundation too dense by popping the air bubbles.

23. Then, spread the pizza sauce how you like.

23. Finally, add the shredded cheese. Then add the vegetables you want on top. Put extra cheese on top, but don’t touch the veggies. Add Italian herbs and chili flakes to taste.
24. Set the pizza tray in the oven Put it right on top of the hot cast iron pan or baking tray in the oven that has already been heated. Place it in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the crust turns golden brown and crunchy. Change the time it takes to bake as needed.

Let it cool down a little before cutting it. Serve hot.

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Make thick crust pizza

27. I also baked two personal pizzas with 6-inch-thick crusts. If I want to make a thick pizza base, I stretch the dough first. You can also poke holes in the base with a fork eight to nine times and bake it for five to seven minutes first. After that, spread the sauce and add the toppings.
28. Cook this for 8 to 10 minutes. If your cheese doesn’t become golden, add it to the top rack and bake it for 2 to 3 more minutes.

Tips to make the best pizza

• Yeast Activation: Always activate the yeast before adding it to the flour. You can add quick yeast directly to the flour, but you can also activate it like you would with active yeast. This will keep your flour safe in case the instant yeast is dead.
• Don’t use too much yeast: the secret to the tastiest pizzas in restaurants and pizzerias is to use less yeast. Use less and let the yeast work for longer. This makes the pizza dough taste better and be the best.
• Let the dough rise slowly at normal temperature: Don’t rush it to rise fast at a higher temperature. Pizza dough that rises slowly gets a unique taste and texture.

Don’t worry about the time; let it rise till it doubles. It takes longer when it’s cold.

• Bake the thick crust base: If you’re using a tiny oven to make a thick crust pizza base, it’s best to bake the base for 5 to 7 minutes first, then spread the sauce on top and add the veggies and cheese. Then finish it up by baking it.

When you use a smaller oven, the cheese usually gets brown before the thick pizza base cooks all the way through.

Pizzerias prepare their pizzas in big ovens that burn wood. These are really hot and are usually baked on pizza stones or baking stones, which cooks the base beautifully.

Health Tip: Don’t use normal maida to create pizza. Regular maida is chemically bleached, which is bad for our health in many ways.

If you can’t obtain organic or unbleached flour, you can use extremely fine whole wheat flour to make a thin crust pizza. That manner, it turns out quite well also.

FAQS on pizza recipe

What is the best flour for pizza dough?

00 flour is the best kind of flour to use to make Italian pizza. It costs a lot in many places and is hard to find. A lot of pizza pros utilize bread flour. But home cooks often use all-purpose flour since it gives similar results.
If you want to cut down on refined flour, you can use fine white wheat flour or a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. But you should use organic flour or at least flour that hasn’t been bleached or bromated.

How long to knead pizza dough?

You only need to knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes. But everyone’s hand pressure is different, so don’t worry about how long it takes. Instead, pay attention to the dough’s texture. The dough should be soft, and when you press down on it, it should leave a dent and then slowly bounce back. This means that the dough is ready.

Can you refrigerate pizza dough?

Yes. Cut the dough into smaller pieces as needed once it has risen. Put them in the fridge after shaping them into balls. Put it in the fridge for one to three days. Let it warm up to room temperature before you stretch it.

Is it better to roll or stretch pizza dough?

Using a rolling pin on the dough breaks up the gas pockets, which can make the pizza foundation thicker. So, you always have to stretch pizza dough by hand. Sprinkling flour on parchment paper or a baking tray makes it easier to stretch. Put the dough ball down and drizzle a little oil on top of it. Then use your fingers to stretch it out over the tray or parchment paper.

You can still use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it is ¾ of the way around. Then stretch the rest by hand and make a border so the edges aren’t flat.

Baking tray vs Pizza crisper vs Cast iron pan

Pizza stones are used by pizzerias to make the greatest crust. A cast iron griddle or a perforated pizza pan (which makes the pizza crispier) are the next best options. These let heat touch the bottom of the crust directly, which makes it crispier. These are better than the normal pans. I have put an image of a tray with holes in it above. You can also use a standard baking tray, though.

If you’re using a pan with holes in it, stretch the pizza on a wooden board or parchment paper. Then transfer to the perforated pizza pan.

How to cook pizza without oven?

You can bake the pizza in a pan on the stovetop if you don’t have an oven. Use less yeast (1/3 teaspoon for this recipe), create the dough using the slow rise method, then bake it on a cast iron pan for the best results. If you want to bake on the stovetop, don’t use dough that has a lot of yeast in it. Cooking on the stovetop won’t give you the same results, and your pizza will smell like yeast.

This stovetop tawa pizza without yeast has step-by-step directions for how to bake it on the stovetop.

How to cook Pizza On a Pizza stone ?

• Place the pizza stone in the middle of the oven and turn it on to preheat. Set the oven to its highest setting and let it heat up for at least 30 minutes. Most experts say to preheat for an hour, but I only do it for 30 minutes.
• Spread a lot of cornmeal all over a wooden pizza peel. Put the dough ball on some parchment paper and drizzle some oil on top. Stretch it out by hand over the parchment sheets. Take it off carefully and put it on the peel.
• Gently shake it back and forth to make sure it isn’t clinging to the peel. After that, spread the sauce on the pizza and style it up.
• Don’t put it on the peel after you’ve dressed it. Make sure it goes right away into the oven on the hot stone.
• Take the pizza peel to the other end of the stone and gently pull or jolt the pizza over the stone. If you used the appropriate amount of cornmeal, it will slide off almost easily.

Why is my dough sticking to the peel?

The most prevalent reason is using the improper peel. Use a pizza peel made of wood. The second cause is that the dough can be overly wet.

Why does my pizza smell or taste yeasty?

If you add too much yeast in the dough, let it rise at a high temperature for too long, or let it rise at a high temperature for too long, your pizza will smell like yeast.

Instead, use less yeast and let it rise gently for a longer time until it doubles or triples in size. The best temperature for rising is between 26 C (80 F) and 32 C (90 F).

If the temperature is too high, the dough will rise too quickly, which doesn’t give the yeast enough time to work. Even after baking it well, this could leave a distinct smell of yeast in the pizza.

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