# Do you make pizza at home?



## Irwin (Oct 2, 2021)

I've watched a few YouTube videos about how to make pizza at home. I was wondering if you can make pizza at home and have it taste as good as what you get in a restaurant. If so, what's your technique? What kind of pan did you use? Did you use a food processor?

I've seen premade pizza crust for sale in the grocery store. One brand is Boboli, but I'm skeptical that it tastes good. And Papa Murphy's tastes like cheap frozen pizza. That's a bigger scam than the tinnitus medical facility where they treat you with mental health therapy. Or Krispy Kreme donuts. Or In-and-out burgers.


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## senior chef (Oct 2, 2021)

I make pizza at home several times/month.
Pizza dough is easy to make, but you can't make it, and eat it on the spur of the moment.
Good dough takes time to develop good flavor.
PS: how hot can you get your oven ? If you can get it up to 450 F or higher then you can make great pizza at home.
I use a stainless steel pan. Food processor is NOT needed. In fact it hampers.


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## Lawrence00 (Oct 2, 2021)

I used to make mini pizzas by toasting bagels, then flash melting cheese I liked, and sauce I liked in the oven. Was very good.


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## Shero (Oct 2, 2021)

I make this style of pizza and always successful, will make one for tonight.


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## RadishRose (Oct 2, 2021)

We have on this forum, a member who is an excellent home pizza maker.

I could never make a real pizza at home. My oven doesn't get hot enough to bake the dough properly. Really good pizza has to be in a blast furnace and it's done in less than 10-15 minutes..... that's how the real pizzerias make them.

I can make a little 10 inch pizza out of *a flour tortilla *and in a frying pan, watch it real close, pop it under the broiler for two minutes and that's it.

No special sauce... just canned tomatoes squished, mozzarella cheese, a little parmigiana, and Italian sausage. Less is more, I don't make pizzas with tons of stuff on them.


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## senior chef (Oct 2, 2021)

Several more things. 
I like to eat the pizza crust EDGE , BUT I don't like a hard dried out crust EDGE.  I like a softer EDGE.
Choice of which cheese to use is quite important.  Best to use a low moisture cheese. It melts better than some harder cheeses. My main cheese is a low moisture mozzarella. And sometimes I add gruyere. BUT NEVER parmesan.
If you like pepperoni, my advice is to NEVER use Hormel brand. Gallo brand pepperoni is very good.
My personal favorite is a sausage, mushroom, and pepperoni pizza.


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## Irwin (Oct 2, 2021)

Shero said:


> I make this style of pizza and always successful, will make one for tonight.


I'm going to try that technique. It looks doable, although they make everything look easy in these videos. I may screw it up.  

I've watched other videos where they use a food processor so you don't need to kneed it by hand, but I kind of like the idea of doing it manually without the grinding sound of the machine to disrupt my equanimity. Cooking is a peaceful process.

I don't have a pizza stone, so for the first attempt, I'll have to just use a baking pan. I wonder if I stack two together, it would retain the heat better.    Do you use a pizza stone? In one video I watched, the cook used a cast iron frying pan, which seemed to work.

Next weekend, it's homemade pizza for the game!

Thanks for the video!


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## senior chef (Oct 2, 2021)

Irwin said:


> I'm going to try that technique. It looks doable, although they make everything look easy in these videos. I may screw it up.
> 
> I've watched other videos where they use a food processor so you don't need to kneed it by hand, but I kind of like the idea of doing it manually without the grinding sound of the machine to disrupt my equanimity. Cooking is a peaceful process.
> 
> ...


Don't worry about a pizza stone. it takes forever to get super hot and THEN you must use a pizza peel to load the stone. Forget about using a cast iron fry pan. Again, it takes forever to get hot. 
A simple stainless steel pizza pan is best for beginners. Use one pan only NOT two stacked together.


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## Shero (Oct 2, 2021)

You are welcome Irwin, you will see, once you get good at the dough, you will not want to buy ready made. Do not worry if it is not great 1st or 2nd time, by the third, you will be a masterchef, and, as RadishRose says, a few toppings are better than a big load, keep it simple.  Later when you are familiar with the heat then you can increase the load and do fancy things!

I have a pizza stone because we have a portable pizza oven, not the huge furnace. But you can use what you may have in your kitchen already. Do you have a large pan you use for baking Christmas turkey for eg? Okay, if so, all you do is place it* upside down ( that is important) *on the lowest shelf of your oven before preheating oven,this will allow the sheet to reach temperature, and will ensure a crispy crust on your pizza! Bon appetit!


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## Buckeye (Oct 3, 2021)

other than frozen type, never tried to make a pizza at home.  But I do remember my mother trying to make pizza out of a yellow box back in the late 50s.  It was just nasty,

Sorry Mom.


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 3, 2021)

I used to make pizza quite often in the winter.

I never had a stone or pizza pan.  I made sheet pizzas on a cookie sheet with sides.  Use what you have.  A couple of layer cake pans, a cast iron frying pan, a 9x13 pan, etc...

I made my dough using a basic bread recipe consisting of water, sugar, yeast, salt, AP flour.  Make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it in a plastic bag after the first rise for up to three days.  When it’s time to make pizza let the dough come to room temperature, shape, top, and bake.  You can also use a pound of dough from the market or bakery with good results.

For me, excess moisture was the biggest problem when making pizza.  I use this dry pizza sauce, limit the amount of toppings and bake in a preheated 450F oven for 18-20 minutes.  When I remove the pizza from the oven I immediately transfer it to a cooling rack so the crust doesn’t start to steam in the pan and lose the crisp texture.

Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.

Practice, practice, practice!


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## RadishRose (Oct 3, 2021)

Here is my little snack pizza on a 10" flour tortilla






this one had too much cheese


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## JimBob1952 (Oct 3, 2021)

I do make pizza at home.  I use something called a telephone.


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## senior chef (Oct 3, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Here is my little snack pizza on a 10" flour tortilla
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow. Talk about thin crust pizza.


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## bowmore (Oct 3, 2021)

We have a pizza stone and a peel. They take up very little room. We buy refrigerated pizza dough at our local market. At first we did not put it out at room temperature to let it rise, but we do that now.
We have granite countertops, so we roll the dough out on the counter. We use Trader Joe's Pizza sauce and then add our toppings.


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## senior chef (Oct 3, 2021)

bowmore said:


> We have a pizza stone and a peel. They take up very little room. We buy refrigerated pizza dough at our local market. At first we did not put it out at room temperature to let it rise, but we do that now.
> We have granite countertops, so we roll the dough out on the counter. We use Trader Joe's Pizza sauce and then add our toppings.


Just out of curiosity , how long does it take you to get your pizza stone blazing hot ?


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## fmdog44 (Oct 3, 2021)

Toaster oven @ 450  for 15 minutes using a 10" flour tortilla sprinkled with flour to avoid a soggy crusts and store bought pizza sauce with a touch of dark brown sugar. So far I am still experimenting with the mozzarella. I hate soupy cheese so I put whole milk, low moisture shredded cheese on an open plate for 8 hours or so to dry it out. I posted a piece on choosing the best cheese and whole milk block cheese was the pick and shredded was rated as poor because of the added starches.


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## bowmore (Oct 3, 2021)

senior chef said:


> Just out of curiosity , how long does it take you to get your pizza stone blazing hot ?


Between a half hour and 45 minutes. During that time, the dough is doing uits second rising.


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## oldman (Oct 3, 2021)

A couple times a year, my wife and I host a "make your own pizza and sundae" party for the kids, grandkids and a few friends. It's a good day for everyone when we do this. We have all the fixings for both, so we use two, four foot tables to hold everything.


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## senior chef (Oct 3, 2021)

bowmore said:


> Between a half hour and 45 minutes. During that time, the dough is doing uits second rising.


I can't recall the name of the instrument , but there is one that can be pointed at an object and it tells you how hot the object is. I'd love to know how hot your pizza stone gets in 30-45 minutes.


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## AnnieA (Oct 3, 2021)

Yep.  Have to since I'm rural and gluten free.  There's no tossing a crust without gluten so it's a good thing I like it super thin and crispy.


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## bowmore (Oct 3, 2021)

senior chef said:


> I can't recall the name of the instrument , but there is one that can be pointed at an object and it tells you how hot the object is. I'd love to know how hot your pizza stone gets in 30-45 minutes.


Klein Tools IR1 Infrared Thermometer, Digital Laser Gun is Non-Contact Thermometer with a Temperature Range -4 to 752-Degree Fahrenheit​$31 at amazon


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## senior chef (Oct 3, 2021)

bowmore said:


> Klein Tools IR1 Infrared Thermometer, Digital Laser Gun is Non-Contact Thermometer with a Temperature Range -4 to 752-Degree Fahrenheit​$31 at amazon


Thanx, Bowmore


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## WheatenLover (Oct 3, 2021)

I make pizza at home. I use Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee pizza mix. If the sauce recipe hasn't changed (yet again), I make the sauce. The only thing that goes on it is Parmesan Cheese. This is a throwback to my childhood, and I still love it (except for sauce recipe changes).

The first time Son #2 cooked anything it was a pizza. He used Julia Child's cookbook for the recipes. I was amazed that he did that. Over the years he has developed his own dough and sauce recipes, and it is delicious. Too bad he moved to California.


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## IrisSenior (Oct 3, 2021)

I can't be bothered with pizza dough (I get that when I order a take-out pizza). Each of of here has his own flatbread to make whatever they want. I like sliced tomatoes, olive oil, olives, peppers (sweet), feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and any veggies or other ingredients you like.


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## Irwin (Oct 4, 2021)

Another option that I discovered is that you can make the crust in a frying pan before adding any toppings. You cook both sides over medium-high heat. Then you add the toppings and cook it the rest of the way in the oven. I'm going to try it under the broiler on the bottom shelf.


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## senior chef (Oct 4, 2021)

Irwin said:


> Another option that I discovered is that you can make the crust in a frying pan before adding any toppings. You cook both sides over medium-high heat. Then you add the toppings and cook it the rest of the way in the oven. I'm going to try it under the broiler on the bottom shelf.


Just curious, but why would you want to take that extra step of partially cooking a crust ?


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## Remy (Oct 5, 2021)

Trader Joe's bagged pizza dough is about as good as homemade and I've made it from scratch.

I love making pizza and it's the first thing that goes in the oven when it cools down.


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## Llynn (Oct 5, 2021)

WheatenLover said:


> I make pizza at home. I use Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee pizza mix. If the sauce recipe hasn't changed (yet again), I make the sauce. The only thing that goes on it is Parmesan Cheese. This is a throwback to my childhood, and I still love it (except for sauce recipe changes).
> 
> The first time Son #2 cooked anything it was a pizza. He used Julia Child's cookbook for the recipes. I was amazed that he did that. Over the years he has developed his own dough and sauce recipes, and it is delicious. Too bad he moved to California.


There were no pizza places within 100 miles of me when I grew up. Yellow  box Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee was my only pizza experience (a High School girlfriend introduced me to it) until I left for College. We had no Mexican food joints either...only exotic food we had was Chinese and that was over 25 miles from where I lived.


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## Gaer (Oct 5, 2021)

When my husband was alive, I made AWESOME homemade pizza!  
I'm not a pizza nut but when I do get an urge for it, I get a tiny Dominos.(for one)
They use garlic oil on the crust, which I love!


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## Ruthanne (Oct 5, 2021)

I like to make my own pizzas at times and do a pretty good job if I must say so!  lol.  I need to find a place where I can get some pizza dough, I've been getting mini pizza crusts from Aldis and while they are ok I'd rather have a full size pizza.


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## Irwin (Oct 5, 2021)

Llynn said:


> There were no pizza places within 100 miles of me when I grew up. Yellow  box Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee was my only pizza experience (a High School girlfriend introduced me to it) until I left for College. We had no Mexican food joints either...only exotic food we had was Chinese and that was over 25 miles from where I lived.


I grew up in a small town without any Italian or pizza restaurants nearby, but there was a guy who ran a pizza business out of his house. He made decent pies (pizza pies, that is). From what I remember, he converted his two car garage into a pizza kitchen. That was way back in the mid-1970s.


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## Irwin (Oct 5, 2021)

I like pizzas with bubbly crusts, which means using wet dough and the yeast needs to be allowed to do its thing for at least 16 hours, according to the videos I've watched.


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## Chris21E (Oct 5, 2021)

JimBob1952 said:


> I do make pizza at home.  I use something called a telephone.


*Brilliant !!! *


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## CindyLouWho (Oct 5, 2021)

Sometimes I buy the Monteli Organic Pizza w/ tomatoes, pesto & arugula ....and add mushrooms, onions & green pepper.


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## WheatenLover (Oct 5, 2021)

Llynn said:


> There were no pizza places within 100 miles of me when I grew up. Yellow  box Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee was my only pizza experience (a High School girlfriend introduced me to it) until I left for College. We had no Mexican food joints either...only exotic food we had was Chinese and that was over 25 miles from where I lived.


Pizza and Mexican restaurants didn't exist. We had Chinese food, but I didn't like it back then.  We lived on Air Force Bases and once in awhile in a small town off-base. The mess hall holiday meals were the best! That's when families got to go there.


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## Irwin (Oct 12, 2021)

So I made a few pizzas from scratch, and they were good but too much work for what you get. If I'm going to put that much work into something, I want gourmet food — not something I'm going to wash down with beer.

The other day while taking a shower, I was thinking that store bought Naan bread is good with spaghetti, which means it would probably be good as pizza crust. I did an internet search for "naan bread pizza" and apparently, a lot of people had the same idea, and there are quite a few videos of people making naan bread pizzas. This evening, I made one and it was really good... as good as pizzeria pizza crust!

Stonefire makes round naan bread specifically for making pizzas with them. I topped it with Ragu pizza sauce, onions, roasted red peppers, bell peppers, chicken, mushrooms, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and baked it in the toaster oven for about 20 minutes. It came out great!


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## fmdog44 (Oct 14, 2021)

Going to make one tonight trying block cheese for the first time and judging from the Italian sausage sandwich I made the other day it will be good. Could not find whole milk but it was better than shredded cheese.


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## Irwin (Oct 14, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> Going to make one tonight trying block cheese for the first time and judging from the Italian sausage sandwich I made the other day it will be good. Could not find whole milk but it was better than shredded cheese.


I'm making naan bread pizza tomorrow night with Italian sausage and bell peppers. Better than pizzeria pizza at maybe 1/4 of the price.


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## fmdog44 (Oct 16, 2021)

I made a pie last night using block cheese instead of the shredded. Sliced it thin, came out much better. No more shredded cheese on my pizza


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