My Pizza Method

My daughter turned 6 this past week and she requested pizza for dinner. I really enjoy making (and eating) pizza at home. It’s almost “from scratch.” I have made my own pizza dough in the past but in the current season I buy housemade dough from my favorite grocery store. It doesn’t make quite a big enough pizza for all 4 of us, so I supplement by making a few “pita pizzas” with Greek flatbread-style pitas.

One of my “secrets for success” is build-it-on-the-pizza sauce. It’s so easy, and it works well with lots of veggie toppings since it doesn’t add any moisture. Also, I like pepperoni flavor on pizza but not the greasy results when you use it as a major topping. So, I cut a handful of slices into small pieces and “dot” the pizza with it after the tomato paste, garlic, and oregano. So it sits under the cheese, unobtrusively. (I keep what’s left in the package, frozen, for a future pizza night.)

Basics:

• 1 lb pizza dough
• A few teaspoons cornmeal
• 4 Tbsp tomato paste
• Granulated garlic
• Dried oregano
• 6-10 slices pepperoni, cut into small pieces
• 1 lb low-moisture whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Additional cheese(s), such as Parmesan (optional)
• Small amount of vegetable oil (optional, it’s for oiling the pizza stone)
• Optional: Greek (flatbread-style) pita breads for extra pizzas

Toppings: We like mostly veggie toppings and lots of them. If you want to do an additional meat like Italian sausage, cook and drain it in advance (about 1/3 lb is good). Our faves are as follows, I usually pick 3 from this list:

• Mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• Zucchini (ditto)
• Artichokes (canned: drained and chopped)
• Olives (black from a can or kalamata from a jar)
• Shallots (sliced thin, tossed with 1 Tbsp olive oil and softened in the microwave)
• Bell peppers (sliced or chopped)

Equipment:

• Pizza stone
• Pizza “peel” – I have a custom-made thin wooden board made by my husband to the exact size of my stone. It’s great!
• My secret tool – a couple of heavy round plastic placemats from IKEA circa 2004. They’re perfectly pizza-sized and let me roll out the dough without having to get flour all over my countertop (or even use any at all, depending on how sticky the dough is.)
• Rolling pin
• Small fine-mesh sieve for dusting on the cornmeal
• Oven mitts (make sure they are oven safe to 500 degrees.)

The Process:

1. Oven setup and preheating: Rack in highest position, stone on rack, preheat to 500.
2. Prep toppings, except for grating cheese. (Most toppings can be prepped well in advance if preferred)
3. Roll out dough: I roll out the dough on a round plastic placemat, then carefully lift it up and stretch it out further. I haven’t graduated to tossing it up in the air, but maybe someday I will get there. Place it gently back down on the placemat.
4. Grate cheese. The pizza dough will relax during the 3-5 minutes it takes to grate a pound of mozzarella.
5. Back to the dough. When you’ve stretched it to the size you want, dust lightly with cornmeal. Put another round mat (or the pizza peel) on top, flip it over, and peel off the top mat. Gently prod the dough back into a round if it’s gotten distorted.
6. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste over the crust. Sprinkle with garlic powder and oregano. Dot with pieces of cut-up pepperoni.
7. Sprinkle on the cheese(s).
8. Add your other toppings. I like to go heavy on the toppings but things can get soggy if you do toooo many veggies. So a bit of restraint is in order.
9. I always pull the pizza stone out of the oven to transfer the pizza. (Also I like to wipe a bit of oil onto it, sort of seasoning the stone.) If the pizza is still on a plastic mat, move it to the pizza peel. Then, onto the stone! If you can get a good segment of the edge onto the hot stone, that will make it easier to slide the whole thing off. Easy does it – no need to rush.
10. Back into the oven. Most of the pizza doughs I’ve used need about 7-10 minutes in the oven. You want the bottom of the crust to be nice and firm when you slide a spatula under it.
11. Let the pizza sit on the stone for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board, slice, and serve.