Pizza

I make some pretty good pizza. It’s taken a couple years to get it right, but I think we’ve got it down now. If you’re thinking about trying to make pizza at home, here are some tips, tricks, and advice for you to consider as you embark on this most excellent pursuit.

Dough

Good dough is the foundation of good pizza. You want to make a high gluten dough, and you ideally want a long, cold proof. This will give you a dough that is easy to work with, and has a lot of flavor.

Sauce

I don’t cook my sauce. You can, but that’s what the oven is for.

Cheese

Use a low moisutre mozzarella, and shred it yourself. The preshredded stuff doesn’t melt right, and burns way too fast due to the anti-caking agents and starches.

Toppings

You can put whatever you want on your pizza, but I recommend keeping it simple. Too many toppings will make your pizza soggy, and it will be hard to get a good bake on it.

Equipment

While you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make pizza, there are a few thing to consider that will make your life easier.

Mixer

Getting a Kitchen-aid mixer is like paying someone to do arm days for you.

Pizza Steel

A recent addition to my pizza inventory, and I’m very happy with it so far. I found that the 1/4" steel plate is a great way to get a good bake on the bottom of the pizza, and it’s a lot easier to work with and maintain than a pizza stone.

If you don’t have a steel, just remember that even a cookie sheet would work in a pinch.

Pizza Peel

You need a way to get the pizza in and out of the oven. I recommend a wooden peel for getting the pizza in, and a metal peel for getting it out. Flour, and some confidence in a back and forth jostling motion will help you get the pizza off the peel and into your oven.

Proofing Trays

I used to use large pyrex bowls for this. I’ve since upgraded to some nice plastic proofing trays that are a lot easier to work with and to conserve space in the fridge. My wife much happier.

Dough Scraper

Eh. You can use a knife, but a dough scraper is nice to have, feels professional.

Pizza Cutter

Have one. They’re super fun.

Ovens

Without a pizza steel, I had been using a pizza pan in the oven on the center rack at 550F, and removing the pan after two minutes to finish the pizza on the rack. This resulted in a well balanced done-ness between the top and bottom of the pizza, but never quite got the “restaurant” bake I was looking for.

Since adding the pizza steel into the mix, I’ve set it on a rack at the second position from the top and use the broiler, allowing the steel to heat up for 30 minutes or more before throwing the first pizza in. This has resulted in a much better bake, and a much more even done-ness between the top and bottom of the pizza in the same 5 minute bake time.