There are many ways to make pizza with shortcuts, but I have yet to taste a "shortcut pizza" that is as good as pizza made from scratch.
To make pizza from scratch you make your dough from scratch. The "by scratch" method gives you a homemade pizza crust. It is really easy once you get the hang of it. I have tried many variations of making pizza dough, but my favorite pizza dough recipe for making pizza from scratch is right here on my website for you to use. Follow the step-by-step directions for making the best homemade pizza. You can knead your dough by hand, but having a bread machine, a food processor, or a heavy duty mixer that has a dough hook makes the process so much easier.
If you have the right pizza making equipment, making the dough will be easier. A heavy duty mixer with a dough hook is our favorite, but you can also used a food processor or a bread machine with very good results. For many years, I made my dough with a food processor and my wife made her dough in a bread machine. Either works just fine.
Don't have a dough mixer machine or a food processor? If not, then you are going to love this recipe for pizza dough. Watch how Wolfgang Puck makes pizza dough:
Another way his method differs from mine is that he starts the pizza cooking on the lower rack and then moves it up to the middle rack in the center of the oven to finish. A pizza stone is recommended for this method.
These dough balls look like giant yeast rolls! You'll need some sugar and some corn starch in addition to the usual pizza dough ingredients.
This "how to make pizza" video uses a different pizza making method. For one thing, the dough has a little sugar added to it, but the main difference is in how the crust is cooked-- in three steps, and without a pan after the first brief step. I haven't ever tried this, but it looks like it would make a good pizza crust if done correctly. The video is very helpful with the details of making a pizza this way.
The final touch for a pizza before serving it to your family and friends is cutting it into pieces. For that job, you need a great pizza cutter.
Some of my favorite pizza making equipment is shown in this picture: my 35 year old pizza cutter, my heavy duty pizza pan (which is becoming seasoned with time), and an aluminum serving tray.
Don't skimp on your equipment. Having the right equipment makes making pizza so much easier.
Visit our pizza equipment page for more information on the best pizza making tools.
A heavy duty pizza cutter makes cutting your pizza easy. I've had my cutter for 35 years and it still works beautifully. I haven't been able to find one like it for sale, but I have seen one that I like as well. It is made by OXO Good Grips. (see picture at left -it goes to Amazon)
If you have ever used one of those flimsy pizza wheel cutters that you see everywhere, then you will really appreciate the quality of a good heavy duty pizza cutter one of like these.
Probably the most important part of making a great pizza is making great dough. You can get my best pizza dough recipe, along with my exact directions for making perfect pizza dough for a great pizza crust.
After kneading, you want to form a dough ball that looks like the one in the picture. You DON'T want a sticky dough. It should be a little dry to the touch, but not so dry that the flour is not kneaded in well.
Making good dough is possible on your first try, but you will find that (as with anything else) experience is your best teacher. If you don't get the result that you expect on your first try, then don't give up... just make another pizza, and you will soon learn how the dough should look and feel. That is when you know that you are an expert on making pizza dough, and no longer a beginner.
We usually make more than one pizza at a time. We just make a stack of containers like this to allow the pizza dough to rise.
The time for rising doesn't have to be exact. You want the dough to double itself, at least. I'd say about 1 1/2 - 2 hours approximately. The dough will rise fine at room temperature, but there is a way to hurry up the rising process.
Tip to Get Your Pizza Dough to Rise Faster
Put the dough in a warm place to hurry it up. In the summer time, I sometimes place it outside. Another trick is to put it in a barely warm oven. Be very careful that the oven is not hot. I turn the oven on for 1 or 2 minutes and then turn it off. Then I place my dough container on a cool cookie sheet on the oven rack. I always leave the oven light on when I do this so that no one comes along an inadvertently preheats the oven while my plastic containers are sitting in there. I learned this the hard way after losing my dough and containers because they melted away in a hot oven. Live and learn.
When you decide to get serious about making pizza, the first thing you have to learn is how to make the dough. This is the starting point for a great pizza. Having the right equipment and ingredients helps assure a good outcome for your efforts. When people ask me to teach them how to make pizza, I always start by giving them this basic dough recipe. If you get this right, the rest of the pizza making comes easy. You'll see!
To find out how to make an Original Thin Crust for one 16” pizza, click over to my How to Make Pizza Dough from scratch page.
This is my tried and true recipe for pizza dough from scratch. It is still my favorite pizza crust after 35 years of making pizza for my family and friends.
Tony Gemignani - How to Make Pizza Dough Fundamentals
This pizza video shows how to push out your dough. For those of you who want to throw it in the air a few times, you can see how to do it right. It also shows you how to use a pizza peel. There are a lot of good tips in this video.
I love pizza. It is a perfect comfort food. The variety is endless and there are countless ways to prepare it. The purpose of my website is to provide tips and ideas for making the best pizzas you can imagine! You are only limited by your imagination and the ingredients available to you.
I have never eaten a pizza that I didn't like. Really! I have tried all kinds of pizza-- thin crust, Chicago style, New York, Sour Dough, and with all types of toppings. You just can't get tired of the unique combinations that you can come up with which will give you a variety of delicious results. And not only that, but making good pizza is EASY! I will show you how.
Once you learn basic dough recipes, you can expand and make a large variety of pizza types by varying sauce, ingredients with you basic crust types. This just adds to your fun.
Stay tuned. Watch me and you'll learn how to make delicious homemade pizzas for your family and friends QUICKLY AND EASILY!
I have been making pizza for over 35 years ever since I worked my way through college working at a pizzeria. I'll be sharing all my great pizza making tips as well as all kinds of creative pizza recipes. Learn how to make dough, special sauce, and top with all your favorite ingredients for your best pizza.
TIM
