The F&W Guide to Making Pizza at Home

A super-flavorful and forgiving pizza dough is the key to pro-level pies.

A good pizza is one of the most rewarding things you can cook at home. There's the way dough feels alive and responsive in your hands. The crackling sound a knife makes while crunching neatly through a properly baked pie. The fragrant steam that arises when you bite into a pillowy, chewy, tangy crust. The joy shared among the lucky people at your table.

I'm especially attuned to these pleasures because pizza success eluded me for too long. My pies would come out of the oven blistered on the outside and gummy on the inside (cooked at too high a heat). Often my dough tore while I tried to shape it (weak gluten network). My crust lacked flavor (not fermented long enough). Thus began a low-key quest for a bulletproof recipe that would work in my home oven so I could finally bake a proper pie. I referenced cookbooks and talked to experts; I learned about hydration ratios of flour to water and protein levels in supermarket flours. I acquired tools, including some fancy outdoor pizza ovens. Still, perfection remained out of reach.

Enter my pizza-loving colleague Mary-Frances Heck. The dough, she knew, was key, and she set to developing a flavorful, forgiving pizza dough that didn't require fussing over. Then our fellow pizza-head and recipe developer Paige Grandjean refined the recipe further in the test kitchen. After that, we pressure-tested the recipe with a team of test kitchen cooks in their home kitchens with basic residential ovens.

Sure enough, the key to good pizza is good dough. And the dough that resulted from our repeated testing, tinkering, and evaluation­ (the dough found here and the cornerstone of this story) is very good. It has complex—but not too tangy—sourdough-like flavor, and it's elastic and easy to work with­—perfect whether this is your first time making pizza or your 50th. We then gave toppings, tools, and cook times the same workout. The result of our collective quest isn't just good pizza at home—it's great pizza at home.

So go ahead. Get out your favorite toppings, crank up the oven, and pour yourself a glass of wine. It's pizza night in America. —Hunter Lewis

The most accurate way to measure the ingredients and portion the dough is with a simple battery-powered digital scale that will tare to grams and ounces. Our testers like the Escali Arti Glass Kitchen Scale ($35, surlatable.com).

To proof dough balls, place them on half sheet pans (Vollrath Wear-Ever Half-Size Sheet Pans, $35 for 2, amazon.com) or in BPA-free plastic pint containers (Safeware Deli Plastic Food Storage Containers, $22 for 50, amazon.com).

A flexible, straight-edge plastic bowl scraper like the 51/4- x 31/2-inch Ateco Straight Edge Plastic Bowl Scraper ($1.19, webstaurantstore.com) is helpful for handling and cutting the dough and for shaping the dough into balls.

Use a lightweight aluminum pizza peel to transfer topped dough rounds to the oven and turn the pies while cooking. We like perforated peels like the Gozney Placement Peel ($99, us.gozney.com) that allow excess flour to fall away.

Pros swear by the Baking Steel ($119, bakingsteel.com), a 16- x 14-inch slab that creates an ultra-hot surface for dough to crisp and rise. We also love the more lightweight, less expensive Lodge 15-inch pizza pan ($43, lodgecastiron.com).

Forget the pizza scissors and wheels. We like the versatility and length of the 14-inch rocker-style KitchenStar Stainless Steel Pizza Cutter for clean, even slices. It doubles as a mezzaluna for cutting herbs and vegetables. ($19, amazon.com)

Despite its reputation as a convenience food, the most essential element of great pizza is time. A slow fermentation gives our pizza dough its chewy-crispy texture and depth of flavor. It starts with your choice of sourdough starter (aka levain) or a simple mixture of flour, water, and active dry yeast (poolish) left to ferment for 12 hours. Both options start fermentation and build flavor in the dough overnight. Strategic stretching of the dough during the initial fermentation stage develops gluten and makes the dough evenly elastic and forgiving to work with.

Stir together 3/4 cup unbleached bread flour (about 3 1/4 ounces or 95 grams), 1/2 cup warm water (about 80°F) (4 ounces or 115 grams), and a pinch of active dry yeast (about 1/16 teaspoon) in a medium bowl. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and let ferment at cool room temperature (about 65°F) until increased in volume 2 1/2 to 3 times and passes the float test (see note below), about 12 hours.

Stir together 1/2 cup warm water (about 80°F) (4 ounces or 115 grams) and 3/4 ounce mature sourdough starter (about 1 1/2 tablespoons or 25 grams) in a medium bowl until starter is mostly dissolved. Stir in 3/4 cup unbleached bread flour (about 3 1/4 ounces or 95 grams) until well combined and mixture resembles thick batter. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel; let stand at room temperature until increased in volume 2 1/2 to 3 times and passes float test, at least 4 hours or up to 8 hours.

One way to know your levain or poolish is ready to work with is by doing the float test. Using wet fingers, pinch off a small portion (about 1/2 teaspoon) of poolish or levain, and drop it in a glass of room-temperature water. If it floats, it's ready to mix into dough. If it sinks, continue to ferment, performing the float test again after 30 minutes.

1. Starter: The key differentiating factor in this dough is the use of a mature, flavorful sourdough levain, or a quickly assembled poolish made from active dry yeast, that develops its complexity overnight.

2. Bread Flour: Unless you're baking at temperatures over 750°F, skip the fancy 00 flour. Bread flour with a high protein content of around 12.7% yields a supple, forgiving dough with moderate gluten strength that's easily stretched without tearing. Its neutral taste lets the top- pings shine. We like King Arthur Organic Bread Flour.

3. Olive Oil: In addition to boosting flavor, olive oil makes for an elastic dough that's easy to shape. As the pizza bakes, the fat in the dough bubbles and blisters in the hot oven, forming a speckled and lightly crisp and chewy crust.

4. Warm Water: The ideal dough temperature for fermentation is around 78°F. Starting with water just warmer than this target temperature jump-starts fermentation and ensures the yeast stays happy and active. Filter tap water to remove chlorine, which can adversely affect the dough's taste and rise.

5. Fine Sea Salt: The small granule size of fine sea salt, such as La Baleine, dissolves quickly and evenly in dough, providing a crisp and clean salinity throughout. Avoid kosher flake and iodized table salt, which will perform differently than fine sea salt. Finish pizzas with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for an extra punch of flavor and texture.

Each 9-ounce dough ball will make one 10-inch pizza, a personal-size pie that's also easy to maneuver around home countertops and ovens. This overnight dough is easily doubled for pizza parties. Not cooking for a crowd? The raw dough may be frozen.

The only way to truly learn how to shape dough is to put your hands on it and practice. With patience and experience, you'll develop a feel for the dough and gain confidence in your shaping techniques and topping combinations. Good pizza will become great pizza. To get started, we've broken down the shaping process into its key steps. Start by making the Artisan Pizza Dough.

1. Punch down the proofed dough in the bowl to gently release air bubbles. Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface.

2. Cut dough using a bench scraper2 into 6 (9-oz. or 255-gram) portions. Fold the 4 corners of each portion into the center.

3. Transfer dough portions to an 3 unfloured work surface. Use a bench scraper to pull dough across surface to form taut balls.

4. Arrange balls on a plastic wrap–lined, oiled tray; tug plastic wrap up between balls. (Or place in 6 oiled plastic pint containers.) Cover; chill.

5. Let chilled covered dough stand at room temperature until dough is cool and a fingerprint remains when dough is touched, 1 to 2 hours.

6. Transfer 1 dough ball to a heavily floured surface. Using floured fingertips, firmly dock dough, leaving a ½-inch border.

7. Form a C-shape with the outer edge of your hand, and press firmly around dough border to form a ½-inch-wide lip.

8. Lift dough onto the knuckles of both hands, and gently stretch, rotating dough after each pull to maintain its round shape.

9. Continue stretching dough, allowing gravity to help expand it, to form a 10-inch circle of even thickness with a slightly thicker outer ring.

10. Lay dough round on a lightly floured surface or semolina-dusted pizza peel, reshaping as needed to form a circle.

Pizza toppings should be applied with a light hand; think of them as a way to season and add texture to the flavorful crust. As the pizza bakes and the dough puffs and rises in the oven, the toppings will naturally flow toward the center of the pie, so go easy on toppings in the middle.

If baking in a kitchen oven, brush edges of dough lightly with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or Smashed Garlic Oil, being careful not to get oil on the pizza peel. (If baking in a pizza oven, skip this step.) Drizzle dough evenly with another 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or Smashed Garlic Oil, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Use a restrained hand with the sauce: 1 1/2 to 2 ounces is the perfect amount. Spoon 1/4 cup Basic Pizza Sauce (recipe below), 3 tablespoons crème fraîche, or 3 tablespoons pesto onto dough; using back of spoon and starting in the center and working to the edge, spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge and adding less sauce to the very center of the pizza.

Simple is best when it comes to tomato sauce. In our many round sof testing, we tried cooked, raw, canned, and jarred tomato sauces and found the best flavor came from a raw sauce based on Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce. Open the can, grate in a little garlic, add a glug of olive oil, and stir in some fresh oregano, salt, and pepper. Spooned onto dough, it has bright acid and sweet-savory flavor that's the star of a cheese pizza and lets other toppings shine.

1 (15-oz.) can Muir Glen; Organic Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. —Hunter Lewis

When it comes to toppings, less is more: Through our testing, we found that a total of 3 to 4 ounces of toppings (including cheese) is the ideal amount for these small 10-inch pizzas. Arrange cheese and 3 to 4 ounces toppings of choice evenly on sauce, starting from outer edge and working toward the center. Leave the 2 inches at the very center of the pizza lighter on toppings.

Preparing toppings before applying them to your pizzas is the key to tender, well-seasoned vegetables, sizzling meat, and evenly melted cheese. Mix and match to taste, or try one of our five Primo Pies (recipes follow).

Low-moisture cheese is essential to crisp, well-structured pies.

Fresh mozzarella, such as Di Stefano Fior di Latte or Crave Brothers Mozzarella, torn into 1/2-inch pieces

Soft-ripened cheese, such as Brie, St. Albans, or robiola, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Low-moisture mozzarella, shredded on large holes of a box grater

Goat cheese, crumbled into large pieces

Ricotta, dolloped by the tablespoonful

Parmesan or pecorino Romano, shaved with a vegetable peeler or finely grated

Prior to topping, toss 3 ounces prepared vegetables or hardy herbs with 2 teaspoons oil and a pinch of salt; let stand while oven preheats.

Onion or spring onion bulbs, thinly sliced

Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline

Mushrooms, such as whole beech, thinly sliced button or cremini, or torn oyster

Zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise or cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Roasted red bell peppers, peeled and thinly sliced

Cherry tomatoes, halved or chopped

Precook and then chop or crumble fresh meat. Purchase cured meats thinly sliced.

Thinly sliced cured meat, such as soppressata, pepperoni, or prosciutto

Italian sausage or lamb sausage, crumbled and cooked

Bacon or guanciale, chopped and cooked

Anchovies, oil- or salt-packed, draped over toppings (can be applied before or after baking)

Add tender herbs and greens to hot pizzas right after baking.

Fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, mint, or cilantro

Scallions, chives, spring onion tops, or ramps, thinly sliced

Arugula, lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon juice

Olives, pitted and torn (these also may be added to pies before baking)

We've long coveted one of those tiled, wood-fired pizza ovens that our favorite pizza joints all seem to have, but you don't need to spend the price of a Ferrari to make pizzaiolo-level pies at home. We built these recipes to work in home ovens that max out at 500°F and also for popular portable backyard pizza ovens like Ooni and Gozney that rely on gas or wood and can crank up to 950°F. Controlling heat is the key to a proper bake. Here's how to do it.

Broiling for the last few minutes of cooking helps brown the edges and top of the pizza while the bottom crust continues to cook from the hot stone below. Don't forget to return the oven to 500°F to give the stone time to heat back up while you stretch and top the next pizza.

1. Preheat oven to 500°F with a baking steel or large round cast-iron pizza pan (such as Lodge 15-inch) on middle rack. Let pan preheat in oven about 30 minutes.

2. Gently shake pizza peel with prepared pie to loosen. If pizza feels stuck in any areas, carefully lift pizza edge with a bench scraper, and dust peel with a 1:1 mixture of semolina and bread flour.

3. Unload pizza onto preheated pan using quick, decisive movements: Set the peel edge on the pan at about a 20-degree angle, and quickly pull back peel to slide half of the pizza onto the pan. Gently shake the peel side to side while pulling it back to slide the rest of the pizza onto the pan, allowing it to stretch slightly.

4. Bake at 500°F until edges of crust have puffed slightly, about 3 minutes. Rotate pan 90 degrees, and increase oven temperature to broil. Broil until pizza is cooked through and crust is browned, 3 to 6 minutes. Using the peel, transfer pizza to a cutting board. Reduce oven temperature to 500°F. If needed, dust off any residual flour on pizza pan using a silicone pastry brush or thickly folded flour sack towel. Let baking stone preheat for a few minutes before loading the next pizza.

We've long coveted one of those tiled, wood-fired pizza ovens that our favorite pizza joints all seem to have, but you don't need to spend the price of a Ferrari to make pizzaiolo-level pies at home. We built these recipes to work in home ovens that max out at 500°F and also for popular portable backyard pizza ovens like Ooni and Gozney that rely on gas or wood and can crank up to 950°F. Controlling heat is the key to a proper bake. Here's how to do it.

1. Preheat pizza oven and pizza stone according to manufacturer's instructions on high 20 minutes. (Note: Cooking with wood takes more experience to control the heat, so we've only included instructions for gas oven cooking here.)

2. Reduce oven heat to medium-low. Follow directions in steps 2 and 3 for "Baking in a Kitchen Oven" (at left) to transfer pizza to oven. Cook pizza, using peel to rotate pizza 90 degrees every 20 to 30 seconds, until cooked through and crust is risen and charred in spots, 2 to 4 minutes.

3. Using peel, transfer pizza to a cutting board. If needed, brush off any residual flour on stone using an oven brush. Let oven preheat on high for a few minutes before loading the next pizza.

Want to take your pizza party to the next level? These backyard pizza ovens will do it. Here are two of our favorites.

Parbaking shaped dough (aka skins) was a revelation for us during recipe testing because it fast-tracks dinner for busy families or pizza-party hosts. As a bonus, we found the crust gets extra crackly using this method.

Kitchen Oven Parbaking

Shape and bake pizza dough at 500°F on pre- heated stone until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Freeze multiple skins in a large ziplock plastic bag up to 2 months. Thaw skins at room temperature about 30 minutes. Add toppings, and bake to desired doneness, 3 to 6 minutes.

Pizza Oven Parbaking

Bake pizza dough according to "Baking in a Backyard Pizza Oven" (see above) until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes, rotating pizza every 30 seconds. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Freeze parbaked crusts in ziplock bags up to 2 months. Thaw skins at room temperature 30 minutes. Add toppings, and bake to desired doneness, 1 to 2 minutes.

Better Leftover Pizza

We had lots of leftover slices during recipe testing. Here's how to reheat them: For a few slices, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add pizza slices in a single layer; cover and cook until pizza slices are heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Flash under broiler for 1 minute, if desired. For several slices, reheat on a preheated pizza stone (see baking directions, opposite) until pizza is hot, 2 to 3 minutes.

While we'll always love the pizzeria shakers of crushed red pepper and salty "Parmesan," modern pizza requires a little something extra to finish strong. Homemade Hot Honey, made here with fermented Calabrian chiles; anchovy-laced Fancy Ranch; and Smashed Garlic Oil, which can also be brushed around the edges of a pie before baking, add pops of flavor to any pie. Garlic Confit, mellowed from an olive oil bath, can be smashed and used as a prebake topping, and the oil drizzled over finished pies. And of course, no one can turn down a dish of warm Basic Pizza Sauce for dunking the "bones."

Part of the fun of making your own pizza is personalizing your pie. From garlicky and briny to earthy and spicy, pizza is the perfect blank canvas for highlighting garden-fresh produce or using up fridge leftovers. Follow our topping guidelines and choose your own adventure, or try these favorite combinations from the F&W test kitchen.

Sometimes all you want at the end of the day is a simple cheese pizza. This recipe turns simple into sublime with the addition of an exceptional pizza dough, low-moisture mozzarella cheese, and an easy to make tomato sauce that hits all of the right sweet and savory notes to marry all of the flavors in this pie. A simple garnish of fresh herbs, and you've got perfection on a plate.

This pizza involves a drizzle of Fancy Ranch dressing, so that almost makes it a salad, right? The Fancy Ranch is a homemade ranch dressing gussied up with a few chopped briny anchovies. But why stop with just a drizzle when you can also serve the pizza with a small bowl of the dressing alongside for dipping. It's important not to weigh your pizza down with too many toppings, which can make for a soggy pie, so this pizza only requires a small amount of wild mushrooms. Choose whatever looks best at the market.

It may seem like a crazy idea, but doubling the carbs on this pizza is one delicious way to serve up a pie. This pizza starts with the flavors of the classic Alsatian pizza, made with cremé fraîche, caramelized onion, and bacon, and adds soft confit garlic cloves and thin slices of potatoes. A little greenery from kale and chives, and you've got an exceptional pizza to both look at and eat.

Take a little soppressata, some chopped calabrian chiles, and a drizzle of hot honey, and what you've got is the pizza of the moment. Calabrian chiles, fiery chiles from Italy, add heat and a distinctly fruity flavor to the pie. The hot honey mirrors the flavors of the chiles, and adds a touch of sweetness.

The combination of the meaty, briny, vegetal flavors in this pizza hits so many satisfying notes that it is sure to be a hit at your table. The olives, peppers, sausage, and ricotta combine to bring sweet, savory, salty, and creamy notes to this pretty pizza. Bright green and meaty Castelvetrano olives offer a refreshing upgrade from the standard canned black olives served at many pizzerias, and mirror the Mediterranean seasoning in the crumbled Italian sausage generously topping this pizza.