Description
This homemade pizza recipe features a perfectly chewy crust topped with savory pizza sauce, melted mozzarella cheese, and your favorite toppings. The dough is made from scratch, allowing you to customize your pizza with various ingredients for a delicious, personalized meal ready in under 1.5 hours.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 cup warm water (110°F/45°C)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Toppings
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Toppings of your choice (pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, sausage, etc.)
Instructions
- Activate Yeast: In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy, indicating the yeast is active.
- Make Dough: Add flour, salt, and olive oil to the yeast mixture. Stir everything until a rough dough forms.
- Knead Dough: Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic, which develops the gluten for a chewy crust.
- First Rise: Place the kneaded dough into a greased bowl, cover it with a cloth or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 475°F (245°C). If you have a pizza stone, place it inside the oven to heat up which will help achieve a crispier crust.
- Shape Dough: Punch down the risen dough to release air bubbles, then roll it out to your desired thickness on a floured surface, shaping it into a round or rectangle depending on your baking tray.
- Add Toppings: Transfer the rolled-out dough onto a baking sheet or pizza peel. Spread pizza sauce evenly over the surface, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese, and arrange your chosen toppings on top.
- Bake Pizza: Bake the pizza in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
- Serve: Once baked, remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Slice into servings and enjoy your homemade pizza.
Notes
- For best results, make sure your water is warm but not hot to avoid killing the yeast.
- You can customize toppings based on preference or dietary restrictions.
- If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking sheet works perfectly well.
- Letting the dough rise longer can improve flavor and texture but adjust baking time accordingly.
- Leftover pizza can be refrigerated and reheated with good results.
