How to Make Homemade Pizza from Scratch

Pizza needs no introduction. Originating from Italy, no dish has global widespread acceptance on the level of pizzas. But for how frequent we consume it, I find it equally baffling that we never consider making it on our own. Possibly due to its intimidating demeanor, or the fact that a good pizza is always just a phone call away, I hope I can nudge you ever so slightly into the kitchen and take on homemade pizza. Take it from me, it is much EASIER than you think. It’s half the trouble of making bread, but twice the fun and three times the flavor!

Making your own homemade pizza dough

To make delicious homemade pizzas, it starts with the dough. High protein flour, olive oil, water, yeast and a sprinkle of salt and pepper is all you need. The real key to a good pizza dough is the texture, so proofing time is paramount here. My kitchen is relatively warmer, so I proofed mine for about 45 minutes.

Whilst the dough is proofing, you may start prepping your pizza base sauce and toppings.

When the dough has risen, it is best not to roll it out using a rolling pin. The pin would squeeze out the trapped air in the dough. You want those air pockets, so the best way is to lift the entire slab of dough from one edge with both hands with your eight fingers forming an inward “hook”. The idea is for the dough to stretch out by its own weight and the gravity pull. Move your fingers clockwise inch by inch as you rotate until the dough reaches your intended size and shape.

It will be quite hard to get a perfect circle at first but you will get a hang of it the more pizzas you make!

When you have your pizza dough, now comes the fun part – the toppings! You can get creative and throw in anything you fancy. I will only be making the most basic pizza toppings in this recipe (tomato and cheese) and leave the rest up to you.

What cheeses work best on a pizza?

I made my tomato paste from canned tomato paste and blended tomato puree. As this will form the base of your pizzas, you would want to season them well.

As for the cheese, I used shredded and block Mozzarella. If you can get your hands on buffalo Mozzarella, even better! Always use soft white cheeses on pizzas like Gorgonzola or Provolone. Hard cheeses like Parmesan is too distinct and sharp, not suitable for baking in the oven. Be generous with the cheese!

After spreading your tomato and cheese on the dough, you can put the rest of whatever ingredients you desire. Always put the “heavier, chunkier pieces near the edge of the pizzas. This is so that the edge will form a nice risen crust and the heavy ingredients will weight the rest of the pizza down. After assembling all your ingredients, top it with a drizzle of olive oil and more Mozzarella. That will give you a lovely sea of melty, gooey white when it comes out the oven.

As I was making a classic Margheritta, my only topping was fresh basil. Top half of it into the oven to bake and the rest to be dressed right after its done.

Crank your oven to the highest temperature!

A true Neapolitan pizza will only take a minute or two in a brick fire oven that can reach a scorching 500 degrees C. The hotter the better! As most of us are using conventional ovens, you would want to preheat your oven to the highest temperature possible. Mine was preheated to 250 degrees C for 30 minutes. If you have a pizza stone, leave it to preheat inside too. This will give that wonderful char on the bottom of your crust. As I don’t own one, I made a makeshift one with an overturned baking tray. It won’t give a similar char but at the very least, it will be cooked. In a 250 degree oven, my pizzas take 8-9 minutes to cook.

This is what you should be aiming for when the pizza is done. A thin, soft, chewy bread base and a crispy puffed up crust with some charring and air pockets. The mozzarella melted into a puddle of dreamy goodness, as the mixture of cooked and fresh basil fills the room. The tomato base should not be dry nor soggy, in between is where you find pure mouth watering bliss.

Nail this combination of factors, and you will have a pizza that would give Domino’s a run for their money. As a matter of fact, I will have this over any franchise any day. Delicious, comforting, irresistible.

Homemade Pizza Topping Variations

If you want a lighter pizza, I highly recommend trying homemade pizza Bianca, which is essentially a “white pizza” meaning no tomato sauce. Drizzle olive oil on dough, then top with chopped garlic, rosemary leaves, and cheese of your choice. I also threw in some brown mushroom slices.

This is another one of my favorite topping combination with alfredo cream sauce as the base along with a bunch of baby spinach, homemade caramelized onion relish, brown mushrooms, a ton of mozzarella and lastly some thyme to finish.

From start to finish, it takes only an hour to 1.5 hours at most. As you get to customize your own toppings, you’ll never run out of flavors on pizza day! 🍕 Let me know what are your favorite toppings in the comment section below!

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