Want to make incredible and delicious pizzas at home? It's actually pretty easy but that's if you have the right tools. I've created a super simple guide with tips on making the perfect pizza at home!
Making homemade pizza is pretty much an obsession of ours we just love it, from making the dough to choosing the toppings and of course eating it!
I've learned over the years of making homemade pizza that the end result depends on the type of flour you use, the toppings you choose (less is more), and of course the tools you use to make it.
And don't be intimidated by the word tools there's nothing fancy involved here just simple baking trays and skillets!
Do I need a pizza oven to make perfect pizzas?
First off let's talk about pizza ovens, if you're looking for perfectly cooked pizzas In 60 seconds then you definitely need a pizza oven but let's be realistic most people don't have that luxury (future life goal).
Don't worry though it's still possible to create beautiful homemade pizzas with a regular oven or even your broiler/oven grill (more on that below).
The key is making sure that your oven is at the hottest setting possible.
Traditional wood-fired ovens reach up to 500C (930F) whereas an average home oven will only reach around 250C (480F) hence why they take much longer to cook.
As well as making sure your oven is super hot you also need to choose your baking tools and prep them correctly.
Different tools give different results
Regular baking trays
The good news is that you can make great pizzas with regular rectangle baking trays which you're guaranteed to have at home already.
If you're using regular baking trays then a key tip is to pre-heat the trays in the oven before baking to help give the pizzas a nice crispy base.
After you have pre-heated your tray make sure to sprinkle semolina or flour on the base of the tray then add the rolled out dough, this stops the pizza base from sticking and keeps it nice and crisp!
The downside to making pizzas in regular trays is that the trays can cool down very quickly so by the time you've transferred the dough and added your toppings the tray isn't very hot (heavy and sturdy trays help keep the tray hotter for longer).
You can make thin and crispy pizzas or thick crust pizzas using baking trays depending on how thin you roll it out. You can also make Sfincione which is a Sicilian Pizza Bread.
You'll need a deep tray for this recipe, check out our full step by step instructions to make the most incredible Sicilian pizza it's perfect for parties!
Pizza Stone
A pizza stone is a circular piece of stone that you pre-heat in the oven before baking your pizzas on it.
The pizza stone penetrates heat so much better than regular trays which gives you a super crispy and delicious pizza crust.
The downside to using a pizza stone other than them often being pretty expensive is that they are very heavy and awkward to store and unless you have more than one you can only bake one pizza at a time.
If you're making pizzas for a large amount of people or want to serve more than one pizza at once I don't recommend using a pizza stone, trays are far easier.
Pizza Tray
A pizza tray is a circular tray with holes in the bottom (see the photo below).
The holes allow the heat of the oven to directly touch the base giving it a really crispy bottom that doesn't collapse when you pick up a slice.
Using a pizza tray is my personal favourite because they are so easy to store, they're light, low cost and give you great results every time!
You can use our traditional Italian pizza dough or our Instant pizza dough with this tray.
Skillet or frying pan
Using a skillet or frying pan to bake your pizza first on the stovetop then finishing it off under the broiler/grill is a relatively new method I've been trying out and omg it's so easy and gives you pretty incredible results.
This is the method you want to use if you want to make Neapolitan style pizzas that have a big puffy but airy outer crust that's so delicious not one crust will be left.
If you've never tried this method then it's a must!
Pizza making accessories
- Pizza cutter - A pizza wheel or pizza cutter makes cutting pizza super quick and easy using a regular knife can get messy and makes it harder to cut even slices.
- Pizza peel - A pizza peel is a flat wooden or metal tool that makes it easy to pick up and transfer pizzas from their cooking surface to cutting board. Personally I don't find them essential and actually I don't even own one. If you line your cooking surface with semolina or flour the pizza won't stick and it's easy to slide off the tray or pizza stone to a cutting board.
- Kitchen scale - although all of our recipes are listed in cups and by weight you're guaranteed to get perfect results every time if you use a kitchen scale, you really can't go wrong. I always weight my flour and water when making pizza dough.
Our recommendations
Here are our recommendations for making homemade pizzas just as we do at home. Don't forget to check out our guide on the best flour to use too and if you need inspiration for pizza toppings check out our collection of pizza recipes.
- To make thin and crispy pizzas - use our traditional Italian pizza dough or if you're in a hurry use our Instant pizza dough with a circular pizza tray with holes (as pictured above) for an extra-crispy base. Dust the tray with flour or brush very lightly with olive oil before baking.
- To make medium to thick pizza crusts or when feeding a crowd - use our traditional pizza dough or Sicilian pizza recipe to make tray or pan pizzas, you can also use our instant pizza dough if in a hurry or want a yeastless pizza. Dust the tray with semolina or semola flour before baking and make sure to pre-heat the trays first for a crispy base. Use your trusty pizza cutter to cut into even slices.
I hope you enjoyed our fun guide, let us know in the comments below if you give any of these tools a go!
Leave a Reply