Simple Pizza Recipes with Amazing Results

Pizza does not need to be complicated.  Many social influencers and “pizza experts” will make you think otherwise, with complex recipes and techniques.  However, all you need is a little time and patience and you can make amazing pizza at home with just a few simple tools and quality ingredients.  The following techniques and homemade pizza recipes will teach you to make pizza the easy stress free way, using your home oven or a backyard pizza oven.  

amazing homemade pepperoni pizza recipe at home

What do you Need to Make Pizza at Home?

You do not need a fancy backyard pizza oven to make great pizza at home.  All you need is a good baking steel and a baking scale for accurate measurements.  You can get by without a pizza peel by using a non-rimmed sheet pan to slide your pizzas on to the backing steel.   If you are committed to making pizza, I would still get a nice aluminum perforated pizza peel to make it easy on yourself. 

Baking Steel

Lots of size options - I prefer the 16" x 16" Baking Steel for larger pizzas.

Baking Scale

Accurate measurements make great pizza possible for beginners

dough scrapers for making pizza dough

Dough Scrapers

A cheap accessory - these little guys make cleanup and dough handling a lot easier

Three Pizza Styles in a Home Oven

I am going to show you how to make three different styles of pizza, using similar dough recipes that make it easy and repeatable every single time.  Below you will find links to three pizza recipes that range from thin and crispy to thick pan pizza that will remind you of Pizza Hut back in the good ol days when they actually made good pizza. 

If you are new to pizza making, start with the Thin & Crispy Tavern Style Pizza, followed by the Detroit Style Pizza, then the NY Style Pizza Recipe.  Making them in that order will grow your confidence along the way.  

sausage and pepperoni pizza thin and crispy

Thin and Crispy Tavern Style Pizza Recipe

Thin and crispy with a dough recipe that is super easy to make. This Chicago Tavern Style Pizza Recipe is a great starting point for making pizza amazing pizza at home. This recipe has a detailed process for making the dough, as well as making a zesty sauce that pairs perfectly with the thin crust.

ny style pizza with sausage

New York Style Pizza Recipe

Thin and crispy with a dough recipe that is super easy to make. This Chicago Tavern Style Pizza Recipe is a great starting point for making pizza amazing pizza at home. This recipe has a detailed process for making the dough, as well as making a zesty sauce that pairs perfectly with the thin crust.

detroit style pan pizza recipe cooked at home

Detroit Style Pan Pizza

Thin and crispy with a dough recipe that is super easy to make. This Chicago Tavern Style Pizza Recipe is a great starting point for making pizza amazing pizza at home. This recipe has a detailed process for making the dough, as well as making a zesty sauce that pairs perfectly with the thin crust.

Pizza Dough Basics and Tips for Making Pizza

You will find a lot of detail in the specific pizza recipes above.   Below are some tips and knowledge I have found useful when making pizza dough and stretching the dough into pizzas. 

Flour Choices for Pizza

  • Make sure the flour you are using is fresh – not 2 years old sitting in the cabinet. The properties change over time, which will affect your dough. I try to use any flour I purchase within 3 months.  
  • You can experiment with different types of flour when mixing your dough.  I find 00 flour is the easiest to stretch when making pizzas, but it can almost stretch too easily, making it hard to handle.  Bread Flour has more structure, so it is the easiest to handle without breaking, but I find it more difficult to stretch.  
  • All Purpose Flour is fine to use, it falls somewhere between 00 and Bread Flour.  
  • I find Bread Flour is helpful in getting a crispy crust that does not flop. 
  • Substitute up to 30% of the flour with whole wheat flour for a healthier and more robust crust.  

Dough, Resting Time, Temperature, and Yeast

  • You can make your dough in the morning and use it that night, but it will not be as good as a dough that has fermented and developed over several days.  I prefer 2-3 days of resting in the fridge. 
  • Typically the longer your dough ferments, the less yeast you need in your dough recipe.  I would never use more than 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast for each 1000 grams of flour.  Typically I use around 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast per 1000 grams of flour. 
  • If you rest your dough in a fridge, you can use more yeast than if you are resting your dough in a warm environment. 
  • If you are using your dough the following day, you can leave your dough at room temperature, or place it in a slightly cooler space of your house, like your basement.
     

The Day you Make Pizzas

  • Store your dough at room temperature starting in the morning.  Approximately 8 hours prior to baking pizzas.  This is assuming room temperature is 72°F.  If its a hot day, then cut this time in half to 4 hours.  
  • Divide and ball your dough balls 2 hours prior to baking pizzas.  Check  your dough balls 30 minutes prior to baking pizzas.  If they have fallen into pancakes, then re-ball your dough at that 30 minute mark.  
  • 10 minutes before you bake pizzas, stretch your dough balls into 8-9″ discs and let them rest, prior to your final stretch.  This will make the final stretch super easy.  
 

What do you Need to Make Pizza at Home?

Baking Steel

Lots of size options - I prefer the 16" x 16" Baking Steel for larger pizzas.

Baking Scale

Accurate measurements make great pizza possible for beginners

dough scrapers for making pizza dough

Dough Scrapers

A cheap accessory - these little guys make cleanup and dough handling a lot easier

Nice to Have Tools when Making Pizzas

Aluminum Pizza Peel

Lightweight and pizza dough slides off the perforated surface easily

large pizza cutting wheel

Large Cutting Wheel

Cuts through any style of pizza with ease

infrared temperature gun

Infrared Temperature Gun

By measuring the temperature of your baking steel, you can make consistent pizza.

My Favorite Backyard Pizza Ovens

gozney arc XL

Gozney Arc XL

Excellent temperature control, small footprint, and it will make 16" pizzas

dome s1 pizza oven

Gozney Dome S1

Top tier backyard pizza oven for a permanent backyard location. Amazing oven.

gozney roccbox pizza oven

Gozney Roccbox

Portable, but still very solid. Great for making pizzas in the 10-11" size range.

If you are a new visitor to S&S or a long time friend, I appreciate your interest. If you purchase a product from the links above, there is a good chance I earn a small commission to go towards searedandsmoked.com and the S & S youtube channel. Thanks for checking out the site.  Cheers – Keegan 

 

Contact Keegan

Hi, my name is Keegan Lare. I love to create delicious grilled and smoked food, bursting with bold flavors. I also love to see my friends and family try something tasty and new. It is in this spirit that I created Seared & Smoked. Leave me a message and i’ll get back to you as soon as I can.