Looking for homemade pizza recipes

[wannabfrugal]

DW and I were talking this weekend about how much we love pizza and I had a face-punch realization... we've been buying pizza from delivery joints rather than ever investigating making it.

I want to start making pizza and thought I would see if anyone has some favorite recipes and/or recipes that are similar to the chains for lower cost. :)

She is a cheese or deluxe eater and I like pepperoni or deluxe.

Has anyone engineered some recipes similar to the chains?  We love almost all pizza, but Donatos is one of our favorites so any recipe similar to theirs would be of special interest. 

And it's a long shot, but if anyone is from the Dayton OH area, I'd love to find a recipe similar to Marion's pizza. :)

[oldtoyota]

We've been making pizza for about 4-5 months. I am working my way through a variety of recipes at allrecipes.com. Good luck!

[GuitarStv]

I posted a good recipe for tasty pizza dough made from a sourdough starter in this thread:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/do-it-yourself-forum!/the-sourdough-thread/

[naners]

Get a bread maker with a dough setting from Goodwill (under $10). Then you can use pretty much any pizza dough recipe (cost: 50c) and the dough is ready in about 90 min with zero effort from you. Bonus points for using a pizza stone, it will get the crust nice and crispy. It's basically impossible to screw up so top with anything you like!

[footenote]

We have been using this method with great results for three years. (We also just started using the same dough for refried bean-filled empenadas. Yum.)

Slow-rise method discussion:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/dining/19pizza.html?pagewanted=all

Here's the yeast recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/dining/19pizzarex4.html?ref=dining

And here's the sourdough option:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/dining/19pizzarex1.html?ref=dining

If you go yeast with any recipe, I recommend buying yeast in bulk and storing it in the freezer. Single packet yeast is, by weight, extremely expensive. End of the day, homemade is vastly cheaper than ordering in.

[CommonCents]

http://www.pizzamaking.com/

If you want to ease into it, we buy dough from Trader Joe's (cheaper than Shaws/Star Market) and make up the toppings for our favorite pizza from a local joint (bacon, apple, red onions - though we sub scallions at times). 

Key is a really hot oven.  And never think that you can sub flour for cornmeal and you'll still be able to pry the pizza off the surface!

[Matt K]

http://returntoroots.krull.ca/tag/pizza/

Usual toppings:
-cheap canned pizza sauce (since we make it so often, we now buy pizza sauce in a squeeze bottle - it's just tomato sauce with basil, oregano, and garlic
-Mozzarella
-black olives
-hot pepper rings
-sliced onion
-sun dried tomatoes (dry, from the bulk food section, not expensive oil packed)
-bacon, left over chicken, or kielbasa sliced thin (much better than cheap pepperoni)

If you like the 'bbq' style pizza sauce, just mix in 50/50 pizza sauce and your favourite bbq sauce (works well with chicken, bacon, and onion)

[ace1224]

www.annies-eats.com

she has awesome pizza dough and pizza recipes.  i like the grilled pizza and the chicago pizza the best

[nawhite]

Almost all pizza dough recipies are variations on the recipie: "water, a little yeast, sugar, salt, and oil, then add flour to texture". Change how long you let it rise or how wet you make the dough to change the type of crust. I usually make a fairly bready crust like a Papa Johns crust but they use more sugar in theirs.

makes 2 14-inch pies

In a bowl mix:
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
Let sit for 10 min

Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 3 Tablespoons olive oil and mix together

Add 2 cups of flour and mix with a dough hook until combined

Slowly add up to 2 and 1/2 more cups of flour while mixing until the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl (In dry Colorado I usually end up using a total of about 3 3/4 cups of flour, in humid Tennessee I ususally am closer to 4 1/2 cups)

Remove the dough hook and let it sit covered for at least 2 hours (more is better in my opinion) or overnight in the refridgerator (let it warm up to room temperature before working with it)

spread out on pizza pans and add 1/3 jar of pizza sauce and 1/4 of a block of shredded cheese to each pizza. Add whatever toppings you want.

cook at 450 degrees F for 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown. (I sometimes will swap which is on the top rack halfway through because my oven is old). If you love sauce or wet toppings like tomato slices or pineapple, then cook a little longer.

Enjoy.

[MrsPete]

http://www.pizzamaking.com/

If you want to ease into it, we buy dough from Trader Joe's (cheaper than Shaws/Star Market) and make up the toppings for our favorite pizza from a local joint (bacon, apple, red onions - though we sub scallions at times). 

Key is a really hot oven.  And never think that you can sub flour for cornmeal and you'll still be able to pry the pizza off the surface!

Harris Teeter also sells pre-made dough in a bag in the deli area.  It's often on sale for $1/bag, and it makes great pizza dough, bread sticks or rolls.  Also available in whole wheat, you can't beat it for price and convenience. 

When I make my own, I add pizza dough conditioner from The Prepared Pantry (online store -- pricey but has great sales).  This makes a difference! 

[stealmystapler]

I've been making pizza every Sunday for at least the past two years, and have settled on this recipe for my dough: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html It seems like I'm always varying the flour (I often use wheat bread flour) based on what I have, but I am always happy with it. And, as it makes enough for four crusts, I only have to make the dough once a month!

Toppings are always an exercise in creativity and google-fu. We've done all sorts of traditional, italian-style pizzas - they are delicious! - but I am one for variety and using what we have in the house. We've experimented with Mexican, Breakfast, Thai, Barbecue (Chicken and Pork), Vegan (using a white bean "sauce"), Vegetarian pizzas of all kinds, and most recently - a Bok Choy/Egg pizza with a peanut sauce (It may sound odd, but it was super delicious).

Moral of the story: Homemade pizza is just as delicious, and can certainly be more exciting than its' take-out cousin. We love our Pizza Sundays!

[wannabfrugal]

Thanks so much for all the great responses!  I'm excited to start trying some new things :)

[Motovated]

I make pizza once a week or so. I've managed to get it down so that it's fairly straightforward. The ingredients other than the toppings are all pantry staples.

I used to use the breadmaker, but much like with pasta dough, I found I can make better dough faster and easier by hand. For my pizzas I almost always use this recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/
It is super simple and quick. The crust comes out very nice.

Then you need your sauce. I would recommend you just experiment with this to get it to your taste. I usually go with some canned tomato paste mixed with water and spices.

Toppings can be anything of course, this changes every time.

To achieve great results, a pizza stone is very helpful. These can be found on the cheap many places now. I bought one when they weren't so cheap, but they seem to last forever so it's not such a big deal.

Make sure the oven is very hot. This makes a big difference on the crust texture and therefore overall pizza success.

Good luck!

[brewer12345]

Use the dough recipe of your choice, but technique is critical.  I have found that rolling the dough really thin isone key.  The other is use a pizza stone and crank your over as jigh as it will go.  Commercial oven are generally above 700F, so come as close as you can.

[rocksinmyhead]

I've been making pizza every Sunday for at least the past two years, and have settled on this recipe for my dough: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html It seems like I'm always varying the flour (I often use wheat bread flour) based on what I have, but I am always happy with it. And, as it makes enough for four crusts, I only have to make the dough once a month!

Question: how do you store the dough you pre-make? and at what point in the rising process, if that makes sense? Like, do you just let it rise, punch it down and then wrap it up?
We make pizza all the time but with canned dough. Just tried homemade dough again last night and it turned out pretty well (a little too crispy/tough on the bottom and doughy on the top... maybe we should prebake it a little next time?) but to be able to make more in advance would be even awesomer and we would NEVER have to buy canned dough :)

[ender]

Refrigerating dough (or freezing) stops it from rising.

A pizza stone is the best. We almost always precook our crusts - take a small amount of olive oil and coat the top part and when it's showing signs of browning pull it out and add ingredients. This is more important with thicker crusts and with very thin crusts I may not even do it.

Honey instead of sugar and replacing some white with wheat flour make crusts amazing.

[Rural]

If you like deep dish (don't know eith chain you mentioned), I do a double batch of baking powder biscuit dough for the crust, and pat it out on a metal pizza pan with good results. Keeps from having to fool around with yeast, too, and it lets me go from pantry staples to finished pizza in 30 minutes or less.

[JJ-]

Slow fermented dough lets you get the chewy crust. I like this guy's methods for dough & cooking. He allows the dough ferment over days in the fridge, cooks over a cast iron skillet over the stove first to get the bottom cooked, and then tosses the pizza under the broiler.

[Beebs]

I LOVE this dough recipe.  I have tried many different types and this so far makes the best dough, plus it's easy and sits in the fridge until ready to use. http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/make-ahead-pizza-dough.aspx

[m8547]

I like this recipe:
http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

It's literally 100 pages (depending on your browser settings if you print preview) but I've distilled it to a manageable size:

Makes 3 pizzas, 12-13 inch, each a 330 gram ball of dough

510g bread flour
330g water
~3/4 Tablespoon salt (10-14g)
1/2 teaspoon Instant yeast (Rapid Rise yeast). Or use 3/4 teaspoon Active Dry yeast
Some sourdough starter, if you have it.

-Mix 75% of flour with everything else and let sit covered for 20 minutes
-With a mixer: Knead for 5 minutes, add the rest of the flour, kneed for about 5 more minutes on low
-If you don't have a mixer: Do the first 5 minutes of "kneading" by mixing with a spoon
-Let rest for 20 minutes covered
-Divide dough into 3 equal pieces, shape into balls, place each one in an oiled bowl or tupperware, cover, and put in the fridge for 1-2 days
-Let dough warm up to room temperature for about an hour
-Sprinkle flour on the counter, stretch out dough
-Move to pizza screen, add toppings
-Baking: 450 for ~10 minutes or 500 for ~8 minutes or 800F for 2-3 minutes

Alternative cooking methods:
-Heat BBQ grill as hot as possible. Cook one side of dough; flip over; add toppings (sauce, cheese, anything else) to cooked size; continue to cook until bottom is cooked and cheese is melted.
-Set oven to highest broil setting. Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove until barely smoking (but very hot). Drop topped dough on the skillet with a peel and transfer it to the oven. Cook until the top is done, and if necessary return to the stove to finish cooking the crust.
-Use a peel (or the back of a sheet pan) to cook the pizza on a pre-heated stone instead of a screen.

This dough should be easy to work with, despite the high hydration (lots of water), since the gluten gets well developed. By the time you have to stretch it out, it should be very soft but not stick at all.  Most other dough recipes will be sticky or firm!

This is one of the few dough recipes I've tried that turns out better than store bought dough from the bakery. If you can buy good refrigerated or frozen dough, it's a good alternative to making your own.

[CrochetStache]

I make my crust from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Artisan-Bread-in-Five-Minutes-a-Day/

Super quick, super easy, no kneading!

Just mix the 4 ingredients with a spoon in a bowl, let it rise for a bit and then grab a piece and make your crust.

While the baking stone is a great idea and the result is nice, I found all that flour or cornmeal needed to keep the dough from being too sticky to be too messy. And I didn't like the burning flour/cornmeal smell, either.

I've changed to handling the dough with wet hands and using parchment paper.

The extra dough is put into a large ziploc 'tupperware' type container in my fridge and YES, the dough does still rise some while in the fridge. The first time I made the recipe, my dough had become a big blob oozing out and over the edges by the next day =0

As there are only two of us, I only make 1/4 of the recipe size as stated in the website.
Have Fun experimenting!

[kimmarg]

A pizza stone is really worth the investment (~$30) It makes the crust a lot better, especially if you like crispy. While one can theoretically slide the dough onto the stone if you put enough cornmeal on it, I just make the whole pizza on a piece of parchment paper and the slide it (using a pizza peel or cookie sheet) onto the stone in the oven. Sure, I pay for parchment paper that way, but it comes out great everytime and I've never mastered the art of not making a huge mess getting it into the oven otherwise.

As others have mentioned the longer you let the dough rest (and this can be up to days in advance) the chewier it gets. You don't need a bread machine - hand mixing (or better stand mixer) is fine. Try it a few times, then invest in a pizza stone.  You'll wonder why you ever bought it. I can make it almost as fast as delivery (1hr, you don't have to let the dough rise)

[Theadyn]

I like the thinner crust type pizza and not having to let it rise or set in the fridge for days.  Here is my recipe for 2 large thin crust pizzas:

Crust:
3/4 cup hot water
2 tsp dry yeast (one pkg worth, I buy in bulk)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups flour (plus more for rolling out dough)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Sauce:
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1 tsp: sugar, olive oil
1/4 tsp: lemon juice, salt, oregano
1/8 tsp: basil, thyme, garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  In small bowl, combine hot water, yeast, sugar, set aside for about 10 minutes until it starts to bubble on top.  In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Add olive oil to yeast wet mixture.  Pour into flour mixture and mix together (I do this by hand, don't own a mixer, works fine) until crumbly, can then hand knead until dough is uniform.  I place a warm wet towel over bowl and set in warm place, by warming oven, to let dough rise a bit. 
While dough is rising, in small sauce pan, combine all sauce ingredients.  Stir over medium-high heat until boiling, reduce temp and let low simmer for about 15 minutes (just about perfect timing to roll out dough). 
Roll out dough on slightly floured surface to desired size of pan or stone.  Poke holes with fork and place first crust in preheated oven for 4-5 minutes (about as much time as it takes to roll out the next crust).  Remove from oven, place second hole-poked crust in oven for 4-5 minutes.  Can top first slightly cooked crust with sauce, shredded mozerella (one package or 2 cups is just about right for a large pizza), and toppings of your choice.  Place back in oven for an additional 12-15 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.  Bake second pizza in same fashion.  Enjoy!


(I worked on many different recipes over the years.  My poor family tried them all, lol.  We liked this one the best as we were all fond of the thinner crusts and I was fond of being able to make them and be eating them in about an hour.)

[m8547]

A pizza stone is really worth the investment (~$30) It makes the crust a lot better, especially if you like crispy. While one can theoretically slide the dough onto the stone if you put enough cornmeal on it, I just make the whole pizza on a piece of parchment paper and the slide it (using a pizza peel or cookie sheet) onto the stone in the oven. Sure, I pay for parchment paper that way, but it comes out great everytime and I've never mastered the art of not making a huge mess getting it into the oven otherwise.

As others have mentioned the longer you let the dough rest (and this can be up to days in advance) the chewier it gets. You don't need a bread machine - hand mixing (or better stand mixer) is fine. Try it a few times, then invest in a pizza stone.  You'll wonder why you ever bought it. I can make it almost as fast as delivery (1hr, you don't have to let the dough rise)

I get equally good results using a pizza screen, and I don't have to wait as long for the stone to heat up (or use as much energy in the process). http://www.amazon.com/Winware-16-Inch-Seamless-Aluminum-Screen/dp/B001CI8VHS
It also negates the issue of transferring the whole pizza to a stone.

[chicagomeg]

I got a baking steel for Christmas. Not our most mustachian purchase ever, but I'm loving it so far. Made a great pizza today using the Kenji/Serious Eats recipe. Except I'm impatient so I let it rise only once and didn't put it in the fridge. Made it at 3:30, baked it at 6 haha. Still came out good, so I'm going to make more & let it sit for the weekend. I made the dough in the food processor as recommended in this video: http://bakingsteel.com/video-how-to-make-pizza-dough-at-home/

Yum!! Will be watching this thread for some more Mustachian recommendations though!

[HappierAtHome]

I use this recipe, which is very similar to Threadyn's: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13141/basic+pizza+dough

We eat pizza all the time and tend to make up a whole batch at a time, then slice up the final product and freeze it. Two minutes in the microwave or ten in the oven if you don't like it soggy, and you have piping hot homemade pizza ready to eat.

[DanishMM]

Hi!
So many cool ideas I will be trying myself!

This topping might sound weird if you havent tried it, but its amazing!
Thin layer of sour cream. Very, very thin potatoslices all over. Rosemary and oliveoil sprinkled on top. Salt and pepper.
Enjoy!

If you want you can replace the sour cream with pesto and add drops of truffleoil for super luxery.


Its great if you have 2 or 3 potatoes left and you have no idea what to use them for.


 

[simonsez]

I try to reduce my carbs somewhat and I realize it is funny to comment on a thread about pizza-making but pizza is my absolute weakness and I eat it about twice a month.  Therefore, I go for thinner crusts.  We use more olive oil to keep it together and substitute some of the white/wheat flour with almond flour.  Spread it out to the size of whatever cookie sheet.  Here are 2 of my favorite pizza types*:

*-note: I love bacon!

Bacon cheeseburger
-fry up bacon in pan
-using the bacon grease, add hamburger (seasoned salt, garlic powder, pinch of cinnamon), Baby bella mushrooms (garlic powder), and onions.  Do not cook hamburger totally as it can burn later in oven.  When the mushrooms and onions have cooked down, then you are ready to add all your toppings to the pie (or rectangle at this point).
-cheddar cheese, the bite of cheddar goes well with the hamburger and bacon, I do about 2/3 of very sharp Cheddar with 1/3 mozzarella and any other cheeses (especially Provel if I've been back home to St. Louis recently and picked some up) I'm feeling

I like to serve mine with yellow mustard for dipping.

Buffalo chicken
-fry up bacon in pan
-cook chicken breasts (lemon pepper, seasoned salt, pinch of cayenne) in pan with bacon grease.  I usually quarter the breasts to cook them faster.  Due to the fact they will cook more in the oven, I put the chicken in the mixer a little past the "medium rare" side of chicken if there is such a thing.  I then dump plenty of wing sauce onto the chicken pieces in the mixer.  I use the regular flat beater attachment on the first or second setting for about 30 seconds and then the chicken is shredded and ready to be added to the pizza.  This is obviously a preference thing, if you want chunks of chicken, then simply cut them up instead of shredding.
-I'm not a big celery person but we do usually have at least onions
-for sauce we usually do a 50/50 pizza sauce and buffalo wing sauce blend.
-bring on the pepper jack cheese!  50/50 pepper jack and mozzarella/other cheeses

I like to serve this one with ranch. 

Salads go great with both!

Also, could be due to thinner crust but I like to cook mine slower.  At 400-425, the crust still gets a nice crispiness to it, even in a cookie sheet and I think the ingredients get a little bit more time to meld and cook together.  YMMV.

[Greg]

I finally started making my own pizza after I built an outdoor pizza oven.  Dough is super easy to make, the weirdest ingredient is yeast, but it takes some forethought, about 2 1/2 hours.  Once I started making it myself, I gave myself a giant facepunch.  It's that easy.

Once you have the dough, you can put anything you like on it and it will taste better than store bought, whether fresh or frozen.  I usually make one pie and save other half of the dough in the freezer in a plastic bag.  Another option is to bake the extra dough and freeze it that way, then you have an almost instant pizza ready to go.

Sauce is also easy, you can buy canned seasoned tomato paste, and either thin it, use it as is, or add sautéed onions and garlic, and olive oil.  Cooking down tomato chunks is the better way. But this too is pretty much always good no matter how you do it.

My favorite "recipes" are pepperoni (self-explanatory) thin smoked ham and pineapple (ditto) and margherita which is basically fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato.  Simpler often tastes better when it's home made.  Otherwise you can do anything you like.

Small "sundried" tomatoes, capers and things like that make nice additions to the basics.

[153]

Our favorite white pizza is as follows:

Light coating of olive oil on dough, a layer of shredded low-moisture mozzarella, dollops of gournay cheese all over- usually Boursin garlic and herbs- finished with lots of deeply caramelized onions and well-browned mushrooms. Fresh chives over the top just as it comes out of the oven is a nice touch

Edited for spelling.

[PajamaMama]

Hello. I'm new to this forum. I have been reading MMM for a couple months. My husband and I are both pretty frugal. We are a family of 5. I'm hoping my husband will retire sometime in the next 7-10 years after we get the last kid through college.

 I've been baking my own pizzas for years but recently found my favorite recipe so far. I've tried many. It is called BEST EVER PIZZA DOUGH. I found it on a blog called Pennies and Pancakes.

I use Fleischmanns Instant Dry Yeast. I buy this at Sams Club in two one pound bags and only cost about $5. So much cheaper than the jars or packets. This yeast doesn't have to be proofed in water and can just be added straight to your dry ingredients. It's idiot proof which is good.  I like this for other baking also because you can skip the second rising which makes it faster and easier.

[elkbark]

I think a pizza stone is pretty key for good DIY pizza.

An idea for extremely quick, single serve, thin crust is to do this:
Preheat oven to 400 with pizza stone in the oven from the start.
while preheating, put sauce, cheese, toppings on a flour tortilla.
After oven reaches 400, slide the tortilla onto the pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes.

This is simple, and nearly as good as most thin crust pizza I've had.

[Capsu78]

I finally started making my own pizza after I built an outdoor pizza oven. 

Greg,
Please tell me more about your outdoor oven.  I have not been able to cost justify one of those as a "mass consumer, SUV driven', mall shopping guy with a gold level cable package", let alone a MMM inspired guy!  Did you build from scratch, use a plan, pre-formed or already built?  Any lessons learned?

[Greg]

Please tell me more about your outdoor oven.  I have not been able to cost justify one of those as a "mass consumer, SUV driven', mall shopping guy with a gold level cable package", let alone a MMM inspired guy!  Did you build from scratch, use a plan, pre-formed or already built?  Any lessons learned?

It's an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven I'd been waiting to build for about 5 years.  Finally did it myself a few years ago after reading ("The Bread Builders" by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott) about it.  Not exactly energy efficient or convenient.  Takes 2-3 hours to heat up.  We don't always use it.  Nice place to hang out by when it's raining, it's partly under cover.  Makes great pizza and we roast other stuff in it too.  Cost a few hundred dollars to build, some of it I had already.

[Capsu78]

Greg,
Very cool.  your set up sounds similar to to an oven I saw when we stayed in a castle in Sicily.  It was outside, under partial cover and very neat just to hang out by.
I recently found these DIY plans and forms that look interesting... I just don't think I have enough brick laying skills to end up with an oven "professional" enough for a permanent backyard setup, but it looks straight forward.

 http://www.brickwoodovens.com/Videos.html

[rocksinmyhead]

OMG the sour cream/potato and buffalo chicken pizzas both sound AMAZING!!! Especially excited that I can use my new KitchenAid to both knead the dough AND shred the chicken ;)

Thanks for the yeast tip too, PajamaMama!