Pizza Makers please share your secret recipes & tips!

[CalicoKat]

OK so I flunk at homemade pizzas. The crust & sauce aren't like their fav. take-out (Rosati's).

 

What's a mom to do?! Nothing like promising homemade pizza for dinner and less than half is eaten. You know leftovers are going in the trash.

[bigdogs29906]

While mine are edible, I'm always open to tips!

 

 

:lurk5:

[gardening momma]

Check out this website for tips on making pizza crust. He uses a really high temperature on his home oven (he actually disabled the feature that keeps the temp from going above 550 F, but I learned it's ok to crank my oven up).

 

Also, don't remember if it's mentioned in that website or not (probably is), but the more the dough is kneaded, the better it will be. A stand mixer works well for that.

 

ETA: For sauce, I use a store brand jarred pizza sauce and usually add italian seasonings like oregano, basil, etc.... I do not use an Italian seasoning blend, as it usually has dried rosemary, which looks like little pine needles, and don't have enough time to soften up when you use it in pizza sauce.

 

When I buy shredded mozzarella cheese, I always buy a blend of cheeses. Kroger brand has a "pizza cheese" blend, which has 4 cheeses, and an Italian blend, which has 6 cheeses. Dh doesn't like just mozzarella on pizza. I also sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over the sauce before I add the other cheese.

 

I prefer to put my pepperoni on top so it has a chance to get crispy. You can pre-cook your pepperoni a little bit, either in the oven or microwave, and blot it with a paper towel so you don't have pools of grease on your finished pizza. Just be careful, because it'll cook really fast by itself, whether you use the oven or microwave.

Edited January 25, 2010 by gardening momma

[Heather in OK]

Use pita bread. ;) Perfect size for an individual serving pizza. Everyone can add their favorite toppings to their own pizza.

 

I buy a big block of mozzarella at WalMart (it's their store brand) and slice it up (slice then cut into smaller pieces). I lay that on the top and then sprinkle with shredded 4-blend cheese.

 

 

If you prefer to make a dough, this one is pretty fail-proof:

 

Makes 10" round, 14x10 rectangle, or 4 minis

(Can also be a calzone crust...makes 8)

 

3 1/2 - 4 C bread flour or all-purpose flour (I use all-purpose)

1 t salt

1/2 oz fresh yeast or 1 t rapid rise yeast

1 C warm water

1 T olive oil

 

Fresh yeast: Mix with a little warm water and leave until frothy (abt 15 minutes)

Rapid Rise: Add 1 t to the warm water

 

Preheat oven to 425deg. Sift 1 1/2 C flour and salt. Add oil and yeast mix (yeast and water). Stir well. Stir until it is a soft dough that doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl (you may need to add a bit more of the flour at this point).

 

Sprinkle flour onto a clean/dry surface and knead until smooth and stretchy. Add in the flour as needed.

 

Grease the inside of a bowl (or bowls if you are multiplying the recipe) and put the dough in it. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled.

 

When risen knead again to get rid of air bubbles. Then put into pizza pan(s). Bake without sauce or toppings until it is almost baked. Remove from oven, add toppings, and return to oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.

[LauraGB]

Here's what I do when I make it fresh that day, and everyone seems to like it well enough! We recently got a Rosatti's here, but I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know how this one compares.

 

The crust: (from my Cuisinart food processor booklet)

2tsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar or honey

1 1/4 c warm water (105-115 degrees)

Mix all that together in a big measuring cup and let stand til foamy.

To the bowl add:

3 1/3 c flour (sometimes I exchange about 1 c or so for wheat)

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbs olive oil

Set the processor to dough speed and slowly pour the yeast/water mixture in until it forms a ball, continue mixing about 30 seconds to knead.

Put some olive oil in a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Spray some plastic wrap with oil spray, lightly cover the bowl, and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 min.

 

The sauce:

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce

1Tbs shredded onion

1-2 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

few pinches of red pepper flakes

2 cloves crushed garlic

salt and pepper

 

Mix that.

 

For the toppings:

I use a combination of provolone and fresh mozzarella (not the hard stuff or the preshredded stuff), then put my toppings on, and then top all the toppings with plenty of freshly grated parm (not from a bag or plastic container).

 

Divide and pat out the crust dough between 2 15x10 cookie sheets (jelly roll pans). Top with the sauce.

 

For my veggie pizza, I do red onion, green pepper, thinly sliced (paper thin!!) portobellas, tomato (slice down so you don't use the wet, seedy part - just the fleshy part), kalamata olives (not canned - use the imported ones in a jar or in bulk).

 

Over the top of the finished and ready to cook pizza, I sprinkle a few pinches of dried oregano, basil, marjoram, and red pepper flakes (celery flakes, dried fennel flakes and thyme are also good in addition, if you have them).

 

Bake at 450 on the lowest rack in the oven til it is done. :)

Edited January 25, 2010 by LauraGB
spelling

[elise1mds]

I love homemade pizzas!

 

Dough: I use my bread machine to make the dough and ALWAYS have to add extra salt, but the kids do like it. I prick and precook the dough, too, because otherwise the sauce just soaks into it and it gets nasty and soggy.

 

Sauce: I combine a small can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste and throw in some herbs (oregano, basil, salt, pepper), or sometimes I will use pesto and/or Alfredo sauce.

 

Toppings: We LOVE to experiment. One of the kids' favorite pizzas has bacon or shrimp, onion, tomato, and spinach. I precook almost all the toppings, especially onions and bell peppers, because they just never manage to get cooked in the 10-15 minute oven time. I just use whatever I have in the fridge. My kids eat almost everything, though, so I have a huge ability to be flexible.

 

Cheese: Mozzarella is king. I have to spread the sauce fairly thin to keep the cheese (and all the toppings) from sliding off, but then we lay on plenty of cheese. Sometimes I'll use Swiss cheese instead. Pretty much any white cheese seems to work well.

 

Ahhh, I hate my diet right now. I want pizza!

[Jane in NC]

Do you have a stone? I use Julia Child's dough recipe from The Way to Cook with great success.

[Pongo]

OK so I flunk at homemade pizzas. The crust & sauce aren't like their fav. take-out (Rosati's).

 

What's a mom to do?! Nothing like promising homemade pizza for dinner and less than half is eaten. You know leftovers are going in the trash.

 

Dough must sit out for at least 45 minutes, never use a rolling pin (unless you like bubbles), and I use a pizza stone. My kids LOVE homemade pizza!

[LauraGB]

You know, I really don't think you can mess up baked bread and cheese if you just use fresh ingredients. Margherita is always good and its just olive oil and garlic, mozz, tomatoes and basil. I really think fresh is the key. And a decent crust.

[coffeefreak]

You know, I really don't think you can mess up baked bread and cheese if you just use fresh ingredients. Margherita is always good and its just olive oil and garlic, mozz, tomatoes and basil. I really think fresh is the key. And a decent crust.

 

You haven't met me!

:lol:

[CalicoKat]

You know, I really don't think you can mess up baked bread and cheese if you just use fresh ingredients. Margherita is always good and its just olive oil and garlic, mozz, tomatoes and basil. I really think fresh is the key. And a decent crust.

or me! dinner was awful.

[BikeBookBread]

You've gotten some great tips. My top tip is to get your oven as hot as it will go. It will be scary the first time!!!

 

Get the pizza stone in that blistering hot oven for 30 minutes to an hour before you bake.

 

Prepare your pizza on a piece of parchment paper if you don't have a pizza peel. Just slip it onto a cookie sheet or backside of a jelly roll pan and slide it onto the stone. Two minutes or so after it has been in the oven, use a pancake-flipper type spatula to lift up an edge, and then assertively yank out that parchment so that the crust has contact with the parchment. Depending upon the thickness of your crust, it will bake in about 7 minutes...but keep an eye on it!

 

Check out a copy of Peter Reinhart's Pizza book for other great tips.

 

I have recently been using this almost-no-knead crust recipe. It can be prepared as little as 2 hours prior to baking, or up to three days before usage. However, Reinhart's New York style crust is OUTSTANDING.

 

I use a mixture of part skim and whole milk mozz for the cheese. Less toppings often is better, especially on thin-crust pizza.

[KatieJ]

I have been making pizza for a very long time...tried every recipe and this one gets rave reviews every single time. I think it's the olive oil and corn meal.......but it's delicious. I haven't tried it with any whole wheat flour yet, but that is next.

 

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup warm milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in large mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 minutes. Add warm milk, olive oil, salt, cornmeal and 3 cups of the flour; stir until well-blended. Add 1 cup of the flour; mix with your hands until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. Add remaining 1/2 to 1 cup flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until a soft dough is formed that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 to 8 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep dough manageable. When finished, the dough should be slightly soft but should spring back when pushed. Lightly oil the surface of the dough and put in the rinsed mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled.

Punch down dough. Knead about 1 minute. Oil the surface again and place back in bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 60 minutes. (Or let rise in refrigerator for several hours. Let the dough stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding.)

Punch down dough. Briefly knead. Divide dough in half for two 14-inch deep-dish pizzas or into quarters for four 8- to 10-inch pizzas.

To make the pizzas, lightly grease the pans and roll out dough to a circle about 1 inch wider than the pan. Place dough in pan and let rest 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Add the sauce (1 cup), toppings and cheese (about 2 cups grated) and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Makes two 14-inch pizzas or four 8- to 10-inch pizzas.

Source: Breaking Bread with Father Dominic by Father Dominic

[Mynyel]

I will just add my 2 cents on here for pizza...my kids don't like anything but homemade....well or bagelbites :tongue_smilie:

 

Crust:

 

1pkg yeast

1cup warm/hot water (I don't measure temp package says 110 though)

1tsp sugar

2tbs olive oil

2.5 cups bread flour

 

Mix water& sugar, add yeast...wait for froth.

Add oil, flour...let rise about 10 min...knead a few times...use rolling pin to make shape you want.

 

Sauce...Hunts traditional in a can :001_smile: Love it.

 

Cheese...Mozzarella (a little), colby jack/monterey jack mix (lots), mild cheddar (little), shredded Parmesan (little/lots)...use shredded Parmesan too...it it better than the grated in a can.

 

Fresh crushed garlic on top...sprinkle oregano, parsley and basil on.

 

We use pepperoni, bacon bits, mushrooms, olives, mushrooms, pineapple...whatever we want!

 

Bake in oven until done!

 

Presto yummy pizza.....hmmm going to make this next week!

Edited January 25, 2010 by Mynyel
Spelling...sheesh and I am teaching my kids to spell!

[Julie in CA]

28 oz. crushed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

6 oz. tomato paste

 

Just mix it all up. You can use it right away, but if I can I make it earlier so that the flavors can mingle.

[duckens]

When we make pizza, we make a LOT for company and for leftovers.

 

Pans: I use my pampered chef large bar stoneware pans. I generously grease them with olive oil to aim for a "pan pizza" experience. I'm not sure how successful I am, but you can try it.

 

Crust: Be brave and fearless. We often add spices/garlic to the crust. It depends upon the pizza for what we put in the crust. Rosemary, basil, italian seasoning, crushed garlic or garlic powder have all been used at differing times.

 

Sauce: Our sauce needs help. We either use tomato paste or alfredo sauce from a jar.

 

Toppings: Be brave and fearless, and try new things. We normally make a couple of traditional pizzas, then use a small pan (like the pampered chef small bar pan, but you could use a pie or cake pan) to try something crazy and experiment. What do you have in your fridge this week that you could throw on a pizza? Salami? Sandwich meat? Blue Cheese? Carrot (grated)?

 

Some of our favorites:

 

Green Chile Pizza (those from New Mexico will understand):

1) Use Alfredo Sauce instead of Tomato Sauce.

2) Add Sausage, black olives, and a small can of green chiles*

3) Top with Mozz cheese.

*Canned green chiles are not spicy. Do not fear the green chiles.

 

Taco Pizza

1) Use refried beans instead of tomato sauce

2) Add taco meat, onions, green peppers, black olives

3) Top with a mixture of mozz and cheddar cheese.

4) After baking, add cut up tomatoes, sliced lettuce, and crushed tomatoes.

 

Chicken Bacon

1) Use alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce

2) Add a layer of fresh spinach

3)Cover with chopped up chicken, bacon, and tomato

4) Top with mozz cheese

 

4 Cheese Pizza

1) Tomato sauce

2)Parmo, cheddar, mozz, cheddar jack, or whatever else you have in the fridge for cheese.

 

Greek Pizza

1) Can't remember which sauce

2) A layer of fresh spinach

3) Add chopped up artichoke hearts, tomatoes, black olives, and cooked gyro meat

4) Top with a mixture of feta and mozz cheese

 

BBQ pizza

1) BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce

2) BBQ chicken or beef w/onions

3) Top with Mozz cheese

 

Other pizzas:

Sausage & Black olives

 

Canadian Bacon with Pineapple (although people tend to feel strongly one way or the other about this pizza).

[Vida Winter]

But it does take the right equipment and a little practice.

 

Get the largest pizza stone that will fit in your oven. I have a rectangular one because I bake bread on it also and want the largest surface area possible.

 

I also use a "Super Peel" to transfer the dough to the pizza stone.

 

http://www.superpeel.com

 

You could also roll the pizza dough onto parchment paper and slide the whole thing, parchment and all, onto the stone, from a cookie sheet that does not have a "lip" on one side. This type of cookie sheet is also useful for removing the pizza from the stone no matter how you got the pizza on there.

 

My best dough results are from Wolfgang Puck's recipe. I double it (this is the doubled recipe, makes 3-6 pizzas depending on how large they are):

 

4.5 tsp yeast

2 tsp honey

2 C warm water (not hot)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

6 c flour

2 tsp kosher salt

 

Polenta to sprinkle on peel if needed

Pizza sauce - I use jar sauce, Paul Newman brand "Italian Sausage"

pizza toppings - mushrooms, pepperoni, peperocini, etc.

bag of shredded cheese for final topping

 

My method (easier than the Puck recipe)

 

1. Mix yeast, honey, warm water, olive oil. Whisk and let it sit for a few minutes, enough for the yeast to dissolve and it will start to foam up. Usually takes about 5 min.

 

2. In the meantime whisk together the flour and salt.

 

3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients. I use a KitchenAid with a dough hook but it is not necessary. I mix until the dough is coming off the sides of the bowl and then I knead it by hand for a couple of minutes.

 

4. Let the dough sit in a bowl, covered by a wet dishcloth for a couple of hours.

 

5. Punch dough down and divide into about 4 big hunks. Dip each hunk in flour. Cover again and let it rest while you preheat the oven with pizza stone to 475.

 

6. Roll out your dough pretty thin. You will need a little flour on the board as you roll it out; turn the dough often as you roll it out. Then I take the outer edges and fold them over making the outer edge a double thickness. This will also serve to keep sauce/cheese from splattering off the pizza as you transfer it.

 

7. If you are using a super peel, sprinkle it with polenta (coarse corn meal) and place dough on the peel. Otherwise put the dough on parchment paper.

 

8. Now prepare the pizza. Put a thin layer of sauce on and spread around with the back of a spoon. Put toppings on. Remember that every topping should be sliced very thin. Last top with cheese.

 

9. Transfer pizza to pizza stone.

 

10. For thin pizza bake for about 14 minutes. For medium crust pizza about 15-16 min. Some of this is dependent on your oven and how thick the pizza is - you will learn quickly through a little trial and error.

 

11. Remove pizza from stone with cookie sheet that has no lip on one side. Since the cookie sheet is cool, you can place the whole thing right on the dining table and use a pizza wheel cutter to slice it up.

 

I have been told that this is the most delicious pizza people have ever eaten. You will not go back to frozen pizza ever after making this. It's even better than 90% of the pizza you could order at a restaurant. When you get some practice doing this I like to make the largest pizza that will fit on the stone (the larger they are it is a little harder to work with). Then I can make half cheese and half pepperoni and get the whole family eating at once (my kids don't like anything too spicy). Otherwise I will make a cheese pizza first and while it cools off a little bit I'll be baking the next pizza (loaded with pepperoni & peppers).

 

The cook in this scenario has to keep making pizzas. While one bakes, the next pizza is being rolled out and prepared. The rest of the family is eating them as fast as you can make them. Once in a while the cook will venture into the dining room for a slice. :D

 

Other hints:

 

* Before you preheat the oven take the pizza stone out and scrape off any polenta (from your last pizza baking session) and any other cheese etc. that is burned on. A dough scraper works great for this job. You won't be able to do anything else with the stone until it is cool, just do this scraping once before you begin cooking.

 

* You can make the pizza dough ahead of time and keep it in ziploc bags in the refrigerator.

 

* You can make garlic sticks from this same dough recipe