Pizza has got to be one of the best foods on earth, I mean, have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like pizza?! Pizza is a passion in our house. Ever since my hubby first told me his favorite part of going to college in New York was the pizza, I was on a pursuit to recreate the pizza he fell in love with in our own kitchen. We’ve learned a lot about making pizza at home since I started that journey, so I am going to share some homemade pizza tips along with a very exciting giveaway from Breville!
We have fallen in love with our Breville Smart Oven and use it with a baking stone all of the time to make homemade pizza! So we are so excited to be giving away three top of the line kitchen appliances from Breville! The grand prize is a Smart Oven with a 13″ baking stone ($350 value) and two first prize winners will receive a Countertop Crispy Crust Pizza Maker ($200 value)! To enter, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the post, and leave a comment telling me what your favorite pizza toppings are (difficult decision, I know ;)
When I set out to start making pizza at home my first instinct was to turn to the internet for guidance. With so many different recipes claiming to produce an authentic New York style pizza, I knew the only way we were going to accomplish our goal was going to be through trial and error, and lots of practice.
Here’s a list of our top homemade pizza tips:
1] MAKE YOUR OWN DOUGH | While you can absolutely buy ready made pizza dough from your local grocer, making your own dough is really the best. Nothing compares to the flavor and texture of homemade pizza dough. Most pizza dough recipes consist of some variation of flour, water, salt & yeast – with the real differences being found in how the dough is prepared once these ingredients have come together. Use a high quality flour like King Arthur bread flour or “00” strong bakers flour. Our favorite type of pizza dough recipe is one that utilizes a slow rise time, but that we can make the same day that we decide that we are craving pizza – this is a world winning recipe that has never let us down.
2] SHAPE THE DOUGH BY HAND | We have all marveled at the guy in the pizza parlor who can effortlessly toss & shape a ball of dough into a perfect round crust. Making pizza is an art and to shape pizza dough well, like anything else in life, takes practice. Always use your hands. Never use a rolling pin as this will deflate all of the air out of the dough and leave you with none of those characteristic air bubbles that make an authentic pizza crust so special.
3] MAKE YOUR OWN SAUCE | Yes, this one matters, even more than the dough. After trying every type of “pizza sauce” there is on the market, nothing can come close to the flavor experience of making your own sauce. The key to a great pizza sauce is the quality of the tomatoes that you are using. We have found that canned San Marzano tomatoes or canned Di Napoli tomatoes are faithfully authentic in flavor every time – they literally taste like the summer tomatoes. When you start with the best tasting tomatoes possible your sauce needs very little embellishments. The best canned San Marzano tomatoes typically hail from Italy, but if you are looking for something grown right here in the US, we absolutely love Bianco brand canned Di Napoli tomatoes.
4] INVEST IN PROPER EQUIPMENT | Making authentic style pizza at home requires a few tools to get the job done right:
- Using a kitchen scale to weigh the flour for your pizza dough will give you consistently superior results compared to using a measuring cup
- You’re going to need a pizza peel to move your pizza to and from the oven. There are several different styles of pizza peels out there (we love our Super Peel)
- A baking stone or baking steel is critical for drawing moisture from the dough in order to achieve a beautifully crisp crust
5] LESS IS MORE | When it comes to topping your pizzas, keep the ‘less is more’ principal in mind. For thin crusted pizzas (our favorite style), make sure you don’t use too much sauce, cheese, or heavy toppings in general, as this will make your pizzas soggy.
6] GET YOUR OVEN AS HOT AS POSSIBLE | Unless you have a wood-fired pizza oven, you’re going to want to simulate same the type of cooking environment as a wood fired oven in your kitchen. Whether you are using a toaster oven with a baking stone/steel or a your conventional oven, set the stone within 6-8″ of the broiler and pre-heat your oven to 450-500f for at least 30-45 minutes. Once you’re ready to bake your pizza, slide your pizza onto the stone, turn off the oven & set the broiler to high – the pizza should cook to perfection in 4-7 minutes (the time depends on your preferred doneness)
Once you start making authentic style pizza at home, your feelings for pizza will never be the same – there is just something about making pizza yourself that is not only really delicious, but so, so satisfying. I am excited to report that all of my years of homemade pizza practice paid off when my hubby told me that he no longer feels the need to return to New York to eat pizza – which is a really big deal since he used to tell me that was the only reason he would ever want to go back!
I hope these homemade pizza tips inspire you to turn your kitchen into a proper pizzeria! As always, feel free to ask me any questions that you have because I am happy to help because I could have really used some personal guidance when I first started out making homemade pizza!
BREVILLE GIVEAWAY!
We’re so excited to be giving away three incredible kitchen appliances from Breville! The grand prize is a Smart Oven with a 13″ baking stone ($350 value) and two first prize winners will receive a Countertop Crispy Crust Pizza Maker ($200 value)! Your homemade pizza journeys will be off to a great start if you win one of these appliances!
To enter, fill out the form below. Open to US residents only. Good luck! Winner will be drawn randomly on December 15th, 2016 and notified via email.
This giveaway is sponsored by Breville! All opinions expressed are purely my own, as always. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that support this blog!
Spinach and Feta cheese are my favorite toppings :)
Oh yes! Spinach & feta are so good together!
Thank you for your gorgeous photography and delicious looking recipes! All of that AND a Breville giveaway! What a awesome Christmas gift ???.
❤️Lori
Aw, you’re so sweet Lori! Thank you!
We are obsessed with homemade pizza over here!
We totally know the feeling!
I love these tips! I just got married and my husband loves pizza as well! Hoping to make some delicious homemade pizza like you do. ?
Congratulations! I’m sure your hubby will be so grateful!
My favorite toppings are definitely pesto, spinach, tomato, and all the other veggies you can imagine ?
Yes! I totally agree!
Amazing giveaway!!!! I love pizza! Thank you so much! ?
Thank you & you’re welcome!
My favorite toppings are definitely pesto, spinach, tomato, and all the other veggies you can imagine ?
I like fresh tomatoes and basil and mozzarella!
simple perfection!
Beautiful work, Bella!
Aw, thank you Dale <3
My favorite pizza toppings are roasted garlic, basil, and chicken! Delicious :)
Oooooh, that sounds so good!
Mixture of cheeses, spinach, artichoke hearts, herbs and a creamy pesto sauce!!
what a combination!
Mushrooms and arugula!
Love mushrooms…& arugula!
Favorite pizza topping
Pesto, fresh tomato, and fresh mozzarella
Or pinapple
So hard to choose! Love pineapple on my pizza too!
spinach, feta and sausage
good combo!
Well, now, something is obviously missing from my kitchen!!!
Haha! Good luck with the giveaway!
My favorite topping would be grilled mixed vegetables.
You can never go wrong with grilled veggies!
Vegan pepperoni, jalapeño, and pineapple.
That sounds SO good!
Spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella
sounds good to me!
my favorite pizza toppings are: mushrooms, onions, green peppers and lots of extra sauce!
My hubby loves extra sauce too!
My favorite toppings are spinach, garlic, and diced tomatoes! Thanks!
perfect combo!
My favorite toppings for my pizza are homemade sauce , real Mozzarella Cheese, fresh peppers , Ham , Olives and bacon!
Nothing compares to real mozzarella cheese!
My favorite toppings are spinach, sausage, onions and green peppers
another great combination!
Cheese. Lots of cheese. Ricotta and mozzarella (white pizza). YUM. Fresh mushrooms and spinach, too.
You can never have enough cheese! ;)
Veggies make the best toppings!!! Tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, brussel sprouts (interesting one I know ;)) figs!!!! Veggies all the way!
I totally agree! And figs make everything better!
Artichokes and Anchovies!
Oooooh…never had those together, sounds intriguing!
I love using what I have on hand, caramelized onions, sautéed with mushrooms, peppers. Fresh motzarella, olives, spinach and basil :-)
Yes to using what you have on hand!
Canadian bacon, mushroom, and olive!
Mushrooms are definitely one of my favorites too!
Ham and mushrooms
I just love mushrooms!
Love Canadian bacon, mushroom, and olive
nice!
goat cheese & caramelized onions!
Love goat cheese & adding caramelized onions sounds dreamy!
Feta and roasted tomatoes
Love feta & tomatoes on pizza!
Mushrooms and Pancetta
another great combo!
Toppings: pepperoni, sausage, pepperoncini, candied jalapenos, black olives, mushrooms, onions.
candied jalapenos!? you have me intrigued!
I love all of the olives, spinach, & mushrooms!!! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
Olives, spinach & mushrooms are proving to be very popular!
lots of mozzarella cheese – sometimes a bit of cheddar too – plus bacon
All the cheese please!
I love my pizza with green peppers and pepperoni!
Oooh, never had those two by themselves, sounds good!
My favorite toppings would have to be chicken, tomatoe, spinach, and mushrooms.
nice combo!
I love pizza and this Breville Smart Oven & a Pizza Stone would make my pizzas even better. I could have Pizza 365 days a year, but I try to behave myself!
We feel exactly the same!
spinach, mushrooms, extra cheese, pepperoni, Italian sausage
Yes!
I love pepperoni and mushroom as toppings
Probably our top two favorites as well!
I so love my Breville blender! Almost bought another one recently ;) Would love to try other Breville products! Pizza toppings? OMGosh…almost anything! Mushrooms, almost any kind of veggie, various cheeses, sauces and herbs…
We love our Breville Smart Oven & yes, it is so hard to choose favorite pizza toppings! We love so many different combos!
I like extra sauce, pepperoni and fresh basil.
That sounds perfect!
PIZZA!
:D
Pepperoni, Onions, Mushrooms, & Spinach. Mmmm, my favorite!
a delicious combination for sure!
This is a great counter top piece for anyone to have in their kitchen. Anything that we have owned by Breville has always been first quality.
Yes it is! We absolutely love it, the Smart Oven has become an indispensable kitchen tool for us!
I love extra cheese!
YES!
Artichoke hearts and pesto
That sounds delicious!
My favorite pizza is a thin crust pepperoni with provel cheese.
Yes! Nothing beats a simple pepperoni pizza!
Sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and black olives :D
This is a popular combo for sure!
I love tomato basil onion green pepper and some bacon well done. YUM
Yes! we like our pizzas well done too!
I love veggie pizzas!
Us too!
Italian sausage and mushrooms
classic combo!
I love making homemade pizza, so much better than purchased! I’d love a Breville Smart Oven, too! Merry Christmas!
We totally agree! Good luck Kathleen! Wishing you a happy holiday season!
Ricotta cheese ?
Yes!
I love any toppings my 19 year old son adds. He is an artist, and it travels into his world of cooking and preparing food. His pizzas are originals. He loves to play with herbs, like crispy sage, heirloom tomatos, varieties of olives, fresh mozzarella, and fresh garlic. Always makes the house smell like an old rustic Italian pizzaria. Magic in the kitchen is he.
That is so awesome! How wonderful that your son has found a passion in cooking! His pizza creations sound amazing!
sausage, mushrooms, black olives <3
A very popular combo!
Love pizza! The crust has to be crispy & chewy. In getting hungry .
YES!
MUSHROOMS AND SAUSAGE! :)
YES!
Beautiful photography! It makes you fall in love with pizza all over again. Now, I want to get cooking! Thank you for hosting such an amazing giveaway! :-)
Aw, thank you so much Constance! Good luck with the giveaway!
I love all the unconventional toppings to pizza! Like some pureed butternut squash or crunchy sprouted lentils <3
Yes to unconventional toppings! Pureed butternut is SO good on pizza!
What don’t I like on my pizza would be a much shorter list. LOL! My fave toppings are basil, fresh tomatoes, artichokes, ham, onion, ovolini & a little bit of giardiniera. ?
Haha! Exactly! Its so hard to choose favorites!
Fave toppings are onions, garlic, hot peppers, mushrooms, pretty much any vegetable!
We just love vegetables on pizza!
My husband and I are huge pizza fans, I tried every pizza place in Atlanta ! I make dough in my bread machine and usually make the a white sauce pizza . Kinda like an Alfredo pizza ! So good
Homemade white sauce is one of our favorite toppings too!
I love mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese as my toppings ?
Such a good combo!
simplicity is best, especially cooking with children, my boys enjoy the experience of learning how to build their pizza using simple, quality ingredients
Even leftovers can transform into a delicious pizza!
It is so good for children to get to cook! How wonderful that you allow them to experience making their own pizzas!
real Italian mozzarella and eggplant
oh yes!
eggplant and mozzarella
so good!
sometimes pineapple and ham
I’m a sucker for pineapple pizza!
Grilled chicken, spinach, alfredo sauce
Oh that sounds so good right now!
Pineapple and ham!
a classic combo!
What an adorable Christmas gift idea!! I’m about to move and can’t imagine a better thing to have in my new place.
My go-to pizza toppings are totally caprese-style: mozzarella, pizza sauce, pesto and fresh basil from my basil plant!!! Yum! Now i’m hungry :)
You can never go wrong with caprese style pizza! Good luck with the giveaway!
I love bacon and sausage on my pizza.
nice!
My favorite is spinach , anchovy and mushroom.
Oooh, never had that combo!
My new fave is calabrian chiles in oil!
I love calabrian chilies!
Pepperoni slices, sauce, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms!
Great combo!
I love fresh pizza – means the dough is homemade as well as the sauce. Toppings I particularly like are black olives, garlic, artichokes, and really good sausage. Plus cheese and homemade red sauce. Yummy……
Homemade pizza is the best pizza!
Peppers, onions and grilled chicken
another great combo!
My favorite toppings are ham, pineapple, and red peppers!
so good!
I love Breville!
Such a great brand!
I love pepperoni on pizza. pretty simple.
Basic, but oh so good!
I love ham and pineapple
Yes! I love pineapple on my pizza!
Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella
simple perfection!
My favorite toppings is when I make my garlic creame sauce and add griiled chicken and bacon topped off with cheese. Just amazing!
Yes! I just love garlic sauce on pizza!
My fave pizza toppings are sausage with peppers, onions and mushrooms. Thanks.
A very popular choice!
My favorite toppings are tomato, mozzarella, basil leaves
A classic pizza right there!
Extra cheese and mushrooms
Yes & yes!
I love extra cheese, caramelized onion, and mushrooms.
That sounds delicious!
I love fresh basil and mushrooms!
simple perfection!
love good pizza
YES!
My favorite pizza topping is my favorite pizza from a restaurant where I worked. It is called the Bee Sting because it is spicy and sweet. It has salami, red onion, garlic, Serrano peppers and is finished with honey after it is cooked.
Oh yum! That sounds amazing!
My favorite pizza toppings are banana peppers, fresh tomatoes, and spinach!!!! I also love chicken and ham and pepperoni. Yum. I just love pizza in general!
Haha! Us too, but banana peppers sound so good right now!
Philly steak, mushrooms, bacon with alfredo sauce
Ooooh, never thought of that combo before!
I love mushrooms, onions and black olives on my pizza!
a classic combination!
My favorite is red sauce, sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, green pepper with mozzarella, fresh tomato slices!
I love fresh tomato slices on pizza!
I love chicken, bacon, peppers, sometimes spinach on my pizza :)
Those all sound awesome!
Onions and black olives!
Simply delicious!
I’m a simple guy… Lots of cheese and pepperoni! Or just different kind of cheese.. I’m hungry now. I just bought a pizza stone!
Yes! That is probably what we crave the most often!
Fresh Spinach and Green Peppers.
Nice & green!
Tomato and basil, but only when they’re super fresh :)
Yes, I totally agree! In season tomatoes are the best!
meat lovers pizza
I like mushrooms, olives and peppers on my pizza.
Prosciutto and Provolone are two of my favorites
My favorite pizza toppings are sausage, spinach and artichokes.
I love lots of different toppings on my pizzas, I like the basic type of pizza with the
red sauce, and cheese, plus black olives, spinach, onions, a little bit of hamburger meat, and maybe some bell peppers!!! I love pizza!!!
Tomato basil mozzarella
My favorite pizza toppings are bacon and mushrooms, and extra cheese.
Aloha
Hamburger, mushrooms, onions, extra sauce, extra cheese
I am a bit of a slow adopter when it comes to shaking things up atop my pizza crust. But I did try pepperoni and pineapple last week at Big Bill’s New York Pizza. And I think that I have found a new favorite!
My favorite pizza toppings are cheese,sauce,pepperoni,pineapples,black olives and mushrooms!
i really love pepperoni
My favorite toppings are goat cheese, dates, and macadamia nuts
If the pizza oven is anything like the amazing Sous Chef or the Juicer we have, then I know it will be outstanding! Would love to cook on one!
i love veggie pizza
Mushrooms, bell pepper, and extra mozz. And now that’s exactly what I want to eat! Arghhhh!
I love just about anything~sausage,mushrooms,green pepper,onion.
If I have to pick though,cheese sausage,onion.
Vegetable pizza is my favorite
I love mushroom and sausage on pizza
I made a Reuben Pizza for dinner. 1000 Island Dressing (homemade of course). Sauerkraut. corned beef and Swiss Cheese on homemade crust. Also tossed in a few caraway seeds.
I love black olives, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions!
Favorite toppings are basil, mozzarella and roma tomatoes.
My favorite toppings are fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love hot peppers on my pizza!
My favorite toppings are chicken spinach and mushrooms on a white sauce. YUMM
Only one? Mushrooms.
I prefer white pizza and I love goat cheese, spinach and artichokes.
Chicken, red onions, black olives and spinach with a balsamic glaze and garlic crust…!!!
I love a vegan pizza with tons of veggies and Miyoko’s vegan Mozzarella cheese.
We love Miyoko’s! They have such a great products!
My favorite pizza topping is Chèvre and lots of it with lots of seasonal vegetables!!!
My favorite topoings have to be arugula tossed in olive oil, lemon, and Parmesan :) super simple.
So many favorite toppings, but I’d have to go with tomato, fresh mozzarella, arugula and real prosciutto. YUM!
Fave pizza toppings: prosciutto and arugula ????????
Pizza was by far the best part of Naples. All we ate for 3 days was margherita at Da Michele and fried pizza at Di Matteo. Now it’s all we think of every time we eat pizza.