A Pizza Is Great. But What About a Good Pizza?

That's exactly what you will have after reading this Instructable. We will touch upon the techniques and tips that will level up a pizza regardless of the equipment used.

Step 1: Ingredients:

Choosing the right proportions of ingredients is important to achieve a good recipe. I have experimented several times to arrive at these proportions.

Pizza base:

Flour (325 grams of all purpose flour and 50 grams of whole wheat flour):Achieving a good crust is important to any pizza. So as to have a balance in chewiness and fluffiness. Combining All purpose flour with whole wheat flour was the answer to this.
Active dry yeast (5 grams)
honey or sugar (1 teaspoon): To activate the yeast and also to add a ting of sweetness to the dough.
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Oil (1 tablespoon)
Water (250 ml)

Pizza Sauce:

Tomatoes (5 to 6)
Garlic powder (half teaspoon)
Oregano (half teaspoon)
Black pepper (a pinch)
Basil (half teaspoon)
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Sugar (1 teaspoon)

Toppings:

Mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
Toppings of your choice (I chose corn, onion and capsicum)

Step 2: Combine and Divide

In a large container combine the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Reserve 125 grams of the combined flour in a bowl to use it later.

Step 3: Its Alive

Add the yeast to a container.
Add 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture and honey to it.
Add 5 teaspoons water and make a paste.
Keep this mixture in a warm place for 5 minutes to hydrate and wake up the yeast.

Step 4: Rest and Develop

After 5 minutes the Yeast should be active. Add the yeast mixture to the large container of flour mixture.
Add water and mix it for five minutes or until everything is combined.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. (As the dough rests the water and flour molecules combine and forms a network of gluten and at the same time the yeast aerates the dough.)

Step 5: Stretch, Fold and Repeat

This is crucial to help strengthen the network of gluten developed in the previous step.

After 45 minutes the dough should be more than double the size with lots of air pockets.
Add the reserved flour mixture, oil and salt to the dough.
Now hold the dough and stretch it away from itself and fold the stretched dough onto itself. repeat this process going around the circumference of the dough at least twice.
Now divide the dough into 3 equal parts and form a tight ball.
Oil 3 bowls and place the dough balls covered in oil and cover the bowl in plastic wrap.
At this point you can preserve the dough balls in the refrigerator for up-to 4 days.
Or you can let the dough rest for 30 minutes and move onto the next step.

Step 6: Boil and Peal

Add the tomatoes in a pan containing water and boil them for about 10 to 15 minutes or until a crack forms on the tomatoes.
Take the tomatoes out of the boiling water and put it into a container with cold water. Let it cool.
Now peel the tomatoes. The peal should come off easily.

Step 7: Blend and Simmer

Add the peeled tomatoes to a blender and blend until no large chunks of tomato remain.
Pour the tomatoes into a sauce pan. Add all the herbs, spices, salt and sugar to it.
Move the saucepan onto a medium flame and simmer for 15 minutes.
The sauce is done. Keep covered until use or refrigerate to preserve.

Step 8: Form and Shape

Dust the surface where you will bake the pizza with semolina and all purpose flour.
Grab a dough ball which has been resting for 30 minutes and place its top facing down on the baking tray.
Place your fingers at the center of the dough and gently stretch it outwards.
After a few stretches it should be relatively flat. Pick it up and hold near the edges making sure not to compress the edge. Let gravity do the work. Move from edge to edge.
Cover the Pizza Base and let it rest for 30 minutes. (This step ensures that the base will turn out to be airy and fluffy even when using a low temperature oven, like i did.)

Step 9: To Top It All Off

Here's a tip to get a caramelized crust in a low temperature home oven:

Spread the sauce all the way till the edge. This will make the crust flavorful while also developing a slightly crispy exterior.
Now add the cheese and the toppings of your choice.
Preheat the oven to the highest temperature your oven can get for 5 minutes. (mine got to 230 degrees Celsius. Yeah its pretty low compared to most. So if i can achieve a good pizza with this low temperature oven, anyone can achieve it.)
Place the pizza as close as possible to the heating element of your oven.
Bake it for 8 to 9 minute. Lower your time if you have a higher temperature oven.