© Lukas Gojda / Stock.adobe.com

Pizza party

Instead of ordering pizza in, make your own pies at home

by MARCY GOLDMAN

Pizza is one unstoppable food. Whether it’s made thick or thin, quick-baked in a gas-fired pizza oven, on a grill or in the oven, nothing is easier or more flexible. All you need is the ultimate pizza dough and a variety of toppings, and you have the ideal all-occasion meal solution.

My biggest pro tip is that genuine, pizzeria-style dough can be made with a no-knead recipe (see recipe link below). It only calls for brief mixing and then the dough is refrigerated for 12 to 18 hours. Dough that’s been cool-risen is easy, workable and ready when you are, and makes an authentic, artisanal crisp-edged crust.

Once the dough is primed to go, there’s the panning out part. For thin, crisp pizzas, gently coax enough dough for one crust into an oval or round shape about 9 inches in diameter, then place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper that has been coated with olive oil. Top it as you like and let it rise. For a thin, crisp pizza, bake it as soon as you want or let it rest, lightly covered with plastic wrap, about 60 to 90 minutes.

For a thicker, chewier pizza, dress it with toppings, cover with plastic wrap and let rise two to three hours. Finally, for a large bready or bakery-style pizza to serve a crowd, use the entire batch of dough. Pat it into an olive-oil-coated 9 x 13-inch pan, top with preferred toppings and let it rise two to three hours.

Thinner pizzas get baked quick and hot at 475 F for eight to 12 minutes; thicker, chewy pizzas appreciate a lower oven temperature of 450 F for 14 to 16 minutes. Breadier, bakery-style pizza, usually served in squares, not wedges, needs moderate heat, 375 F, and more time, 25 to 30 minutes.

Homemade pizza can be baked free-form on a regular baking sheet, in a cast-iron pan, on a pizza stone or in a dedicated gas-fired pizza oven. If you’re baking in your regular oven, a cast-iron skillet is your best bet. The heat-retentive, dark cast iron helps bake a toasty, well-browned bottom crust.

Pizza, with its quick bake and customized topping options, is where creativity and appetite collide in a sizzling pie that is both delicious and satisfying.

---

---