How to Master a Homemade Pizza

These days, everyone is a chef. You don’t have to go far to experience class culinary indulgence, and ingredients from all over the world can be found in your local supermarket. But what about the simple things that have been our favorite family dishes since we can remember? What about those comforting flavors that we could prepare easily at home if someone else would teach us how? Besides choosing the best ingredients, there are a few more secrets to share about mastering the perfect homemade pizza.

Ingredients  Ingredients  Ingredients

It is no secret that if the cheese is not of decent quality, the pizza will not taste good. If the tomatoes used for the sauce are bitter, the pizza will be bitter. There are no shortcuts, and the raw materials used for making the perfect pie should be the best you can find. It is worth spending a few more dollars and investing in quality ingredients. They are the secret to perfection, and it doesn’t matter if you are a plain margaritas kind of guy or a double cheese pepperoni sort of girl.

The Essence of Dough

Getting the dough just right might be a little intimidating, as many fear this stage of preparing pizza. A lot of people just take the easy way and buy ready-made pizza bases, but trust us when we say once you prepare the dough on your own, you can set good buy to the supermarket bases. All it requires is flour (preferably pizza flour), water (cold), yeast (the dry kind), a pinch of salt, and a splash of olive oil. Then, all you have to do is knead the dough and let it proof, and the base for your homemade pizza is ready to go.

Shapes

Now the question is, do you prefer the crispy think pie, or are you a lover of thick and doughy pizza? Whatever it may be, when it comes to shaping your pizza, there are no rules, and it’s all about fun, fun, fun. Use a rolling pin, or stretch it out with your hands, what we love about this most is that the pizza does not have to be perfectly round. The homemade touch of an undefined shape is what makes this so deliciously enjoyable.

Tomato and Cheese

For the sauce, don’t necessarily think that only soft tomatoes will do. If they are over-ripe, they might affect the flavor of the pizza and have a very unpleasant aftertaste. When it comes to pizza sauce, you don’t need more than tomatoes, salt, and pepper. The cheese you use has to be mozzarella. However, it can be blended with others. The cheese is what holds everything together, so invest in the good stuff.

Top the Toppings

This is where you become creative, and please, don’t underestimate the importance of the toppings. There isn’t such a thing as a bland pizza (cheese and tomato will do for us); however, there is such a thing as too many toppings. Don’t overdo it, make sure all toppings work together, and if you’re like us, limit the choices you give your guests. As far as we are concerned, pineapple is not a topping.

Bake Well

Your oven should be at 475°F (245°C); place your perfect pie onto a baking stone or extremely hot baking tray. It will be impossible to ignore the smell that will fill your kitchen, and before you know it, the edges will turn golden, the cheese will begin to bubble, and your pie will be ready to serve.  Creating your own pizza can be so much fun. It’s entertaining, it’s satisfying, and most of all, it tastes so much better than any of the supermarket frozen stuff.