Classic Homemade Pizza From Scratch
Pizza has always been my absolute favorite. I’ve never been one for too many toppings, so cheese has always been my personal go-to. It is a staple of almost every pizza night and super easy to make. This pizza recipe is great if you want a cheese pizza or any other type of pizza! Once you’re done, you’ll have a delicious pizza that is perfect for any occasion!
About this Pizza Recipe
This cheese pizza recipe combines my quick and easy pizza dough recipe and my red pizza sauce recipe to make a dish you can prepare in just a few hours. This classic pizza recipe has a thin crust, and delicious sauce, and can be made in any oven without any specialty equipment! If cheese pizza isn’t your thing, this pizza recipe provides a great baseline to add any other toppings – pepperoni, pineapple, sausage, etc.
The #1 Secret to the Best Cheese Pizza
There are so many important components that can impact the way pizza turns out. Variations in the crust, sauce, and cheeses can all impact the final product and create something completely different each time. For this pizza recipe, I’ve opted for a thinner crust and a slightly elevated sauce, along with classic mozzarella cheese. If you want to try something different, check out our Chicago-style pizza crust recipe, or this Pesto Pizza Recipe!
From Scratch Homemade Pizza Recipe Overview
Making pizza from scratch is easy! There are three main steps you’ll need to follow:
- Make the dough: I recommend starting with the dough. After mixing yeast, sugar, water, and oil, the dough will need about an hour to rise. I like to use this time to prep my toppings and sauce.
- Make the sauce: Sauce is such an important part of a pizza’s overall flavor. The tomato sauce in this recipe has a great blend of spices that provide an in-depth flavor.
- Toppings: Arguably the most fun part of making pizza is adding the toppings! Add cheese and anything else you prefer! Personally, I’m a fan of the classic cheese pizza, but pepperoni, sausage, bacon, pineapple, peppers, olives, and mushrooms are always good choices too!
Tools For Making Pizza From Scratch
I used a few special tools to make this pizza. While these tools make it a bit easier to prep the sauce, they aren’t required to complete the dish!
- Immersion Blender: I found that using an immersion blender made it much easier to blend the tomatoes together in the sauce. If you don’t have an immersion blender, don’t worry! A normal blender will work.
- Pizza Screen: I used a pizza screen to make this recipe. Pizza screens allow for more air circulation which can change the texture of the crust. If you don’t have a pizza screen, a pizza stone, pizza pan, or even baking sheet will work just fine.
Related Recipes:
- Homemade Pizza Dough: Homemade pizza dough is easy to make and can completely transform your pizza. This hand-tossed pizza crust recipe is easy to make and provides a delicious result!
- Homemade Pizza Sauce: While canned sauce is great in a pinch, this homemade pizza sauce requires just a few ingredients and can completely transform your meal. Homemade sauce adds so much depth to an already delicious slice of pizza!
- Ceasar Salad: Salad is an essential part of any pizza night! Ceasar Salad is my personal favorite, and this Caesar salad recipe only takes a few minutes to prepare!
Conclusion
Homemade pizza is one of my favorite dishes to cook. While it may seem daunting at first, homemade pizza is actually pretty simple to make. This recipe will give you step-by-step instructions on how to make the best homemade pizza, completely from scratch! We’ll start with the dough, then make a delicious homemade pizza sauce, and finally, add toppings. After just a few minutes of baking, we’ll have an awesome homemade pizza!
Classic Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pizza Cutter
- 1 Pizza Screen or Pizza Stone, Pizza Pan, or baking sheet.
- 1 Rolling Pin
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup water warm, about 110℉ or 43℃
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed to dust
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp salt
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic finely minced
- 1/3 cup onion very finely chopped (minced)
- 1 28-ounce can tomato whole, crushed.
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp sugar optional, for balancing acidity
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes optional, for a bit of heat
- fresh basil hand-torn – 1 small sprig
- fresh oregano 1 small sprig
- Fresh Thyme 1 small sprig
Toppings
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
- In a small bowl, combine 2¼ tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 cup water . Gently stir. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy.1 You can see in the image that the yeast will slightly bubble and froth when ready.2¼ tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1 cup water
- In a large bowl, combine 2½ cups all-purpose flour and 1 tsp salt. Slowly add 2 tbsp Olive Oil and yeast mixtures, stirring in with a wooden spoon. Mix well until a dough begins to form. The dough should have a playdough-like consistency and be slightly sticky/tacky. If needed, add additional flour until the proper consistency is achieved. Just be careful not to add too much!2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- Kneading the dough: Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Transfer the dough onto this work surface and knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Lightly oil the sides of a clean bowl with olive oil. Shape the dough into a ball, and place it in the lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until the dough doubles in size – about 1-1.5 hours.2 While the dough rises, prepare toppings and sauce (instructions below).
Prepare the Sauce
- In a bowl, crush 1 28-ounce can tomato until smooth. Use an immersion blender if necessary.31 28-ounce can tomato
- In a saucepan, heat 2 tbsp Olive Oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and 1/3 cup onion, and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, and the onion is translucent – about 2-3 minutes.2 tbsp Olive Oil, 1/3 cup onion, 4 cloves Garlic
- Pour the tomatoes into the saucepan and stir. Add 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, and 1 tsp sugar .41 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, 1 tsp sugar
- Stir in 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp Dried Oregano, 1 tsp dried basil. If you’d like to add additional spice, add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional).1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp Dried Oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of water to thin it out.
- After simmering for 20 minutes optionally add fresh basil, fresh oregano, and Fresh Thyme, and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.fresh basil, fresh oregano, Fresh Thyme
- If you prefer a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until it reaches the desired thickness.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
Prepare the Pizza and Toppings
- Once the dough from section 1 has risen, preheat your oven to 450.
- Punch down the dough to release trapped air & divide into 2, equally sized portions.
- On a lightly flowered surface, roll out each dough portion into a 12-inch circle, about ¼ inch thickness. You can use a rolling pin to roll out the dough if needed. This recipe yields 2 12-inch pizzas. Transfer the dough to a pizza stone, baking sheet, or pizza pan.
- Add 1 cup of sauce to each pizza and evenly spread.
- Add 2 cup mozzarella cheese to each pizza and evenly spread.2 cup mozzarella cheese
- Add any other toppings you'd like!
- Bake in the oven at 450 until the crust is golden brown – usually about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 1 minute, then slice and enjoy!
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