Would you like to learn how to make authentic artisanal pizza at home? Here’s everything you need to know: recipes, tools and more!
On our honeymoon 11 years ago, Alex and I traveled to Italy and fell in love – for the second time. This time it was an Italian artisan pizza: its soft and blackened crust, its sweet tomatoes and its melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella.
Our first experience was at what Rick Steve called “the best pizza in Rome”. To our surprise there was minimal toppings and an egg on top with the yolk spilling all over the pizza. Genius! When we flew back to the United States, we vowed to learn how to make real homemade pizza: Italian style.
Learn to make homemade pizza at home
It all started with making pizza dough at home. After a while we started experimenting and creating our own recipe. While there have been some epic failures, our goal has remained the same: to enjoy delicious, quality artisanal pizza with people we love.
Along the way, we learned about the best Italian flour, how to use a pizza peel, and what San Marzano tomatoes are. We’ve found that the best pizzas are those that contain few real food ingredients, and that homemade pizza can actually be healthier (or healthier) compared to typical American pizza. We read dozens of recipes and talked to pizzeria experts. Over time we got used to it.
After years of research, we found the following…
Years later we decided to return to Italy for more research! This time it was in Naples, the birthplace of pizza. In Naples we ate the best pizza of our lives at a pizzeria called Da Michele. In this old pizzeria, they served artisan pizza of two flavors, cooked to perfection in a hot wood-fired oven for 1 minute. It was transcendent. We knew then: It’s not just an obsession. Artisanal pizza is a way of life.
After 11 years of research, you can also call us the undisputed experts in homemade pizza. We may not be from Italy, but we’ve spoken to the country’s top pizzeria experts and spent a great deal of time in the trenches learning the secrets of artisan pizza-making at home. And we also want to tell you how to do it! Here’s our list of the best gadgets, pizza ovens, flour, tomatoes, and pizza recipes you can use to make your own artisanal pizza. Are you ready?
What flour should I use for pizza dough?
Over the years we have found that if you want to make really good pizza dough, you have to use the flour used by professional pizzerias! It’s called Enter 00 and it is a special Italian brand. We order ours online and only use it for our pizza dough.
Which Pizza Sauce Recipe Should I Use?
Our best pizza sauce is incredibly easy, with just 5 ingredients and ready in 5 minutes. We also have a video to convince you 🙂 Check it out Easy pizza sauce recipe!
What’s your best pizza dough recipe?
Here are our favorite pizza dough recipes! We recommend the Master Pizza Dough recipe as a starting point, then cook through the other variations!
What pizza equipment do I need?
To make artisanal pizza at home, you need a few things. Here are the pizza materials we recommend (affiliate links included):
pizza shovel
To move pizza in and out of the oven, you need a pizza scoop. To prevent the dough from sticking, brush it with a thin layer of cornmeal or semolina before baking. Here are the pizza peels we use. We love the pizza shovel stand because it makes pushing the dough onto the pizza stone so easy. You won’t believe it until you see it in action!
pizza stone
If you use your standard oven to make pizza, you’ll need a pizza stone instead! The pizza stone heats up as your oven preheats, giving your homemade pizza crust a crispy underside. We don’t recommend making pizza without it! Note that a pizza stone can break (we’ve had quite a few cracks in the oven) – but you can still use the pieces side-by-side in the oven.
pizza tray
When our artisanal pizza is ready, we slide it onto a circular pizza tray and let it cool for a few minutes. You can use a baking sheet instead, but the round shape is perfect for sliding pizza in and serving it at the table.
Pizza oven (optional)
You don’t need a pizza oven to make homemade pizza at home! However, if you’re at all interested in a really good artisanal pizza with those beautiful char marks on the crust, consider a pizza oven! The key to a good pizza is baking at very high temperatures. Your standard oven can only reach 550 degrees F, but a pizza oven can reach almost 1000 degrees F!
Until recently we didn’t have a pizza oven. But we discovered a pizza oven called Ooni. The Ooni is small, portable, and heats up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 minutes, powered by wood pellets. The Ooni takes a little practice, but it revolutionized our homemade pizza. Here’s the Ooni pizza oven we use and more about why we think it’s the best pizza oven.
What are some of your favorite pizza recipes?
So much! Here are some popular pizza recipes to try:
The description
The most classic artisan pizza, this pizza recipe features flavorful pizza sauce, gooey mozzarella, and the perfect moist pizza crust.
For the pizza dough
For the pizza sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic (1/2 Middle)
- 15 ounces crushed fire-roasted tomatoes or high-quality organic canned tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Few ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the toppings
- 1/4 at 1/3 cup of pizza sauce
- ¾ cup grated cheese or 2 at 3 ounces of fresh mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese
- A few leaves of fresh basil
- Prepare pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (It takes about 15 minutes and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (this is the pizza oven we use).
- Prepare pizza sauce: Cut the garlic into a few coarse pieces. Place garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, and kosher salt in a blender. Mix until fully combined. (You will use about ⅓ cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
- Prepare cheese: If using fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼-inch thick pieces (see pre-baked pizza photos above). If it’s incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you can let it sit on a paper towel for about 15 minutes to remove the moisture, then blot the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove extra moisture.
- Bake pizza: When the oven is done, dust a pizza peel with corn or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimmed baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is worth the investment!) Roll out the dough in a circle; For instructions, see How to stretch pizza dough. Then carefully place the dough on the pizza peel.
- Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce, about ¼ to ⅓ cup, over the dough. Add mozzarella cheese. Garnish with a thin layer of grated fresh Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Let the pizza cool for a minute or two before adding the basil (whole, lightly torn, or thinly sliced leaves). Cut into pieces and serve immediately.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Italian
- Diet: vegetarian
