Take your homemade pizza game to the next level with tips and insider secrets. Whether you're a budding home cook or a seasoned pizza enthusiast, this article will offer practical advice, in-depth techniques, and unique recipes that will revolutionize your pizza-making process.

Try These Homemade Pizza Tips

Is there any food item more universally loved than pizza? It’s a safe pick for kids and adults alike, but also a tasty one – when done right. The problem is that most people don’t know how to make good pizza, so they end up opting for cheap carryout or, even worse, frozen pizza!

But here’s the thing…making good pizza isn’t as difficult as you might think. There are, however, a few keys to getting it right. Here are some of those best practices:

1. Create the Perfect Dough

It’s impossible to have good pizza without great pizza dough. You can think of it like the foundation of a home. Without the right foundation, everything else falls apart. The same goes for pizza. You need a quality dough to give your pizza flavor, structure, and proper texture.

Speaking of texture, different flours impart different textures to the dough. If you want a chewy crust, high-protein flour is ideal. Want something a little softer? All-purpose flour is the go-to option. You also need to think through the ratio of water to flour. This makes a big difference, too. 

It’s not just the ingredients, though. Did you know that how you knead your dough also matters? Whether you prefer hand-kneading or using a stand mixer, proper kneading helps develop gluten, giving your crust the right elasticity. Don't overwork the dough; give it time to rest and rise to ensure a flavorful and well-textured crust.

2. Choose the Right Sauce and Toppings

While the crust is the secret ingredient, toppings matter, too. In fact, this is what most people are going to talk about when they eat your pizza. 

Let’s start with the most important topping of all: sauce. Whether it’s a classic tomato sauce, pesto, or fancy white garlic sauce, you have to focus on balance and fresh ingredients. Try out different herbs and seasoning until you get the perfect taste.

In terms of the toppings that layer on the sauce, freshness is the most important detail. Some people like ham and pineapple, other people enjoy pepperoni. Then there are sausage and onion lovers…and even crazy people who like black olives. (Kidding, kind of.) Regardless of which toppings you go for, they need to be as fresh as possible. Avoid frozen ingredients at all costs.

3. Use the Right Cooking Method

This brings us to actually cooking the pizza. And, once again, you have options. While you can use a traditional oven, it’s not recommended. (At least for the best quality.) Instead, get an outdoor pizza oven. 

Outdoor pizza ovens are extremely convenient and easy to use; however, there are some nuances that will require a little testing to get right.

As RTA Outdoor Living notes, “There are a few important considerations regarding pizza oven performance. You want it to reach scorching hot, very high temperatures. You want it to retain heat well. And you want it to happen quickly. How well your pizza oven accomplishes these speaks volumes about its overall quality.”

4. Avoid Common Mistakes

Making pizza at home is a fun and rewarding experience, but it's not without its challenges. Even seasoned home cooks can fall into some common pitfalls. If you can avoid these mistakes, your pizza will be much better. 

The most common mistakes include:

Soggy Crust

Solution:

• Pre-bake the crust for a few minutes before adding toppings.
• Ensure your sauce is not too watery.
• Avoid overloading the pizza with too many toppings that can release moisture.

Unevenly Cooked Toppings

Solution:

• Precook certain toppings like sausage or thick-cut vegetables.
• Cut toppings into uniform sizes to ensure even cooking.
• Consider the cooking time of different toppings, adding some later in the baking process if necessary.

Overworked or Tough Dough

Solution:

• Be gentle while kneading and avoid overworking the dough.
• Allow the dough to rest adequately between kneading and shaping.

Practice Makes Perfect

Chances are, even after reading this article, you aren’t going to make a 10/10 pizza the first time around. Like anything, making delicious homemade pizza takes practice….lots and lots of practice. But if you follow the best practices and tips highlighted above, your learning curve will be much shorter than most. 

Before you know it, you’ll have mouth-watering pizza that the whole neighborhood talks about. Good luck!