5 Fast Tips for Pizza Making

Want to up your home pizza making game? There are some simple techniques you can add to your homemade pizza night that will improve your pizza and make the whole process easier. Check out these fast five tips for pizza making right in your own kitchen.

1. Make Your Dough Work for You

Keep it simple. Use a quick and easy recipe that you like and don’t worry about adding anything extra like sugar or stuffing the crust. Don’t overwork the dough to avoid any toughness in the final pizza. You can make the dough the day before to improve both texture and flavor. Put it in an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. It can sit in the fridge anywhere from one to 24 hours. When you’re ready to make your pizza, just take it out of the bowl onto a floured surface and let it sit for a little while to shed the cold from the fridge. Then roll as usual. This tip also makes it easy to do the work ahead of time and then just roll and top your pizza at your convenience.

2. Keep Your Sauce Simple

It’s fun to experiment with different pizza sauces, but if you’re working on your basic pizza skills, keep it simple! A red sauce made from good canned tomatoes fits the bill. Your sauce shouldn’t be too watery to avoid a soggy crust. And don’t over-sauce your pizza. It doesn’t need to be drowning in red sauce to make a great pizza.

3. Less is More for Pizza Toppings

An overloaded pizza can end up being a big mess. Too many toppings can keep your pizza from baking correctly. And you’ll drown out the flavor of the crust and sauce. Watch out for vegetables that have a high water content like mushrooms, zucchini, or peppers. You can pre-roast them or sauté them for a minute or two to remove some of the water before placing them on your pizza.

4. Master Your Pizza Baking Technique

While you may not have a wood fired oven in your kitchen, you can still achieve a great pizza with your own oven. The key is to crank it up as high as it will go. This is generally 500-500 degrees F (260-290 degrees C). Let it preheat for at least an hour to create the best at-home pizza oven environment. If you love a toasty cheese top, you can turn your broiler on for the last minute to get that blistered, bubbly top and crust.

5. Up Your Leftover Pizza Game

Extend your pizza enjoyment by days by learning how to best reheat your leftovers. The skillet method gives you a crispy crust and a bubbly cheesy top. Place your leftover slice in a cold non-stick skillet. Turn it on to medium heat and let it warm up for about 3 minutes. Then add a few drops of water and cover quickly. This lets the bottom crust get crispy before steaming the top. It only takes a minute of steaming to get the best results.