It's Not Delivery, It's Homemade. Pizza.

This is a fantastic pizza recipe that rivals or beats every pizza I have personally had. It needs a few special items which are listed below, but it is a fairly easy recipe overall. With some practice, you will be a pizza master in no time!

Note* The pizza dough proofs in the refrigerator for 36-48 hours so plan ahead!

Supplies

Equipment:

I recommend checking your local restaurant supply type store(if you have one) as you will usually find the best prices there. My go-to brand for most of my equipment is American Metalcraft but they have a hard time keeping in stock on Amazon.

1. You will need a scale for this recipe. Like most bread recipes, this is very important. Without it, it is likely that the dough will have the wrong hydration which can make it hard to work with and mess with the end product. This scale is a fantastic option but there are cheaper alternatives available.

2. You will also need a pizza stone. You can DIY a pizza stone from Home Depot items but I suggest just ordering one. It will pay for itself in 2-3 pizzas. At the time of writing this, there were no good 16" pizza stones in stock on Amazon. Something like this pizza stone would work but you have to be careful to not make your pizza too large. A pizza steel would also work but I've never had any issues with my stone.

3. Finally, you will need a wooden pizza peel. This will be used to form the pizza on and transfer it to the stone in the oven. It can also be used as a cutting board for the pizza. Epicurean makes a fantastic "wooden" peal. It is thin and very sturdy, making a metal peel less important. There are much cheaper options available(I personally use a cheaper peel) but the Epicurean is nice.

4. *Optional* For the best experience, you will also want a metal peel. Just like the stone, I could not find a very good option on Amazon at this time. Something like this would work well but it is more expensive than it should be. If you do not have a restaurant supply type store near you, it would probably be best to skip a metal peel. A rimless sheet pan will work well or you can use tongs to drag the pizza to your wooden peel.

5. *Optional* I recommend getting a good cutting device for your pizza. A sharp chefs knife works very well if you have one available and would rather not purchase a new cutter. If you want a traditional wheel style pizza cutter, I recommend spending the money and getting a restaurant grade one like this Dexter-Russell. It will last much longer than the cheaper cutters and has a user replaceable blade. Personally, I use and highly recommend this knife.

Dough:
1. 900g bread flour. High protein bread flour is highly recommended for the best results. I recommend King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill. Any bread flour should work fine though.

2. 550g Filtered water

3. 4.5g Instant dry yeast

4. 16g Salt

5. 27g Vegetable or Canola oil

6. 9g Sugar

7. Semolina Flour or Cornmeal to dust

Sauce:

1. Ideally, one large can of crushed tomatoes. Diced or chopped can work if they are all that you have available but you will end up with a less consistent sauce. If using diced or chopped, you may have to run them in a food processor to get them broken down. You also may have to strain them slightly to make sure the sauce isn't too liquidy.

2. Crushed Basil, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Really any seasonings that you enjoy and think would taste good in a pizza sauce. There are endless possibilities!

3. I usually add a Teaspoon or so of granulated sugar. Some people don't like sugar in their pizza sauce so this is up to you.

4. One tablespoon of olive oil.

In a pinch, pre-made pizza sauce will work.

Toppings:

1. 8-12oz mozzarella per 16" pizza. I use low moisture fresh mozzarella from Restaurant Depot, however it is easily available from Target and Walmart. Pre shredded will work if it is the only option but it is best to get a block and chop/shred it yourself. Pre shredded cheese is packed with cornstarch to keep it from clumping. This cornstarch negatively affects how the cheese melts. Part skim works but I prefer whole milk mozzarella due to the richer flavor and better melting.

2. Any other toppings you want. It is best to saute fresh vegetables like mushrooms before putting them on the pizza as they release a lot of moisture.

Step 1: Making the Dough

1. Measure the flour, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
2. Measure the water, oil, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl if you do not have a mixer. Whisk well until yeast is dissolved.

3. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix with a heavy spoon until too stiff to continue. Knead, either by hand or with a stand mixer, until smooth. This should take 4-6 minutes on low-medium with a dough hook or about the same time with a brisk knead by hand.

4. Place dough on a lightly floured workspace. Split into equal sized sections, for this exact recipe that is three 490-500g pieces. Around 500g makes a good 16" NY Style pizza.

5. Get three(or however many pizzas you are making) small-medium sized mixing bowls(big enough for the dough balls) and spray them with nonstick spray or rub with olive oil.

6. Form the dough sections into tight balls. To do this, place on an unfloured workspace and use your hands to "spin" it and create tension on top. Use the stickiness of the counter to try and seal the bottom. then pull the ball towards you with your pinkies tight against the counter to finish sealing. After this the ball will be slightly oval shaped, so turn it sideways and do this pull a second time to get it back into shape.

7. Place into the bowls that were just prepared, cover with damp towels or plastic cling wrap, and refrigerate for 24-48hrs. You will have to remove the dough from the fridge 3 hours before you want to cook the pizzas so keep this in mind.

Step 2: Prepare the Toppings

This step is very easy but depends on what toppings you will be using.

Sauce:

If you are using crushed tomatoes, simply mix all of the ingredients together and place in fridge.

If you are using diced or chopped tomatoes, you may need to process them slightly and strain them like mentioned previously.

Cheese:

If you are using a block of cheese, you can either chop or shred it. I chopped it for this batch but normally I shred it. Shredding gives a more even end product but takes more time up front. Either way works well.

Vegetables:

In my case, I was using fresh mushrooms. If you are using any vegetables that normally release a lot of water during cooking, it is best to cook them first. I just quickly sauteed the mushrooms in butter.

Step 3: Form and Top the Pizzas

1. Remove the pizza balls from the refrigerator 3 hours before you want to cook them. They should have risen to about double the original size. After the 3 hours at room temperature they will have risen quite a bit more.
2. One hour before making the pizzas, put your pizza stone in the oven around 7-10 inches from the top broiler. Set your oven for the highest setting possible, for me that is 550F Convection Roast. Right before forming pizza, set the broiler to high to superheat the stone.

3. Get a plate with a layer of flour on it ready. Also get your wooden peel either coated in semolina flour/cornmeal or a sheet of parchment paper. Parchment paper is recommended for a first time pizza because it prevents the pizza from having a chance of sticking to the peel. You can put some semolina flour/cornmeal on the parchment paper also.

4. Pull a dough ball out of the bowl and set on the plate with flour, flip and coat the other side of the dough ball. Move the dough ball to your wooden pizza peel.

5. Form the pizza I thought about making a video or trying to describe how to form a pizza in detail. In the end, I decided that it is really just best to google how to do this. There are tons of videos showing how to do it, and in the end it comes down to preference. There are endless ways to get a piece of dough into a thin circle. In not a ton of detail, I find it easiest to first push the dough out with it flat on the work surface until it’s about as far as it wants to go. Then, lift it up and let gravity stretch the dough by “hanging” it on your knuckles, working your hands around the whole pizza.

6. Once formed into a mostly pizza-like shape, coat with an even layer of sauce. Be careful not to go overboard but make sure you have enough. Then, top with cheese and anything else you'd like. How many toppings is up to you but like with the sauce, there is such a thing as too much. Yes, that goes for cheese too.

Step 4: Cooking the Pizza

1. Once the pizza is topped to your liking, grab the peel and slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. Be careful here, you do not want it to hang off on any side if possible. At this point, turn off the oven broiler and return the oven to the hottest it can go.
2. Time depends entirely on oven temperature(true temperature, not what the oven says) but it is pretty clear when it is done. Normally it’s 4-7 minutes. You are looking for lightly browned cheese and a nice golden crust. If you have to, it can be removed before a golden crust is achieved due to toppings cooking too quickly. Don’t worry about some blackening on the tall bubbles that form on the crust. You may have to try and spin the pizza mid-cook if your oven is uneven.

3. When it is done, remove with a metal peel, cookie sheet, or use tongs to slide it onto your wooden peel. Place the pizza on a cooling rack and let cool for 2-3 minutes.

Step 5: Cut and Enjoy!

After letting it cool, transfer the pizza from the cooling rack onto either a cutting board or your wooden peel. Cut with your preferred tool and enjoy!