Making Pizza at Home (NTTCAL)

MDT082010 · March 2011

I've tried making pizza at home (with store bought dough) once before and it was a major fail.

I'm trying it again tonight.

I'm looking for any tips on how to make it turn out the best. I got a pizza stone as a wedding present so we are going to be using that and hopefully that will help.

Any suggestions???

jinx75 · March 2011

What was bad about it? I always use the Chef Boyardee pizza kit dough. I use the sauce that comes with the kit on my and DD's pizza and I buy the Contina's sauce on DH's pizza. I also use the Kraft Italian shredded cheese.

williams4me · March 2011

Hmmm...I don't have any tips, I usually just use a store bought pre-made pizza crust and then add whatever we want on it.

I did want to mention one of the best pizza I ever made (not very healthy I know) I substituted mashed potatoes instead of pizza sauce, then covered the potatoes with mozzerella and cheddar cheese, and bacon (for DH), and then cooked in oven. I made it for the guys last football season, the personal pan sizes for appetizers ....they LOVED it. I know it sounds weird, but seriously if you like mashed potatoes like I do it's amazing! Sorry I couldn't answer your question though lol Big Smile

ohbabyoh · March 2011

I make pizza at home all of the time! H is a bit of a food snob so he doesn't like to order in. I love making breads from scratch so I have fun making the dough myself.

What went wrong the last time? Was the dough too tough, or too doughy?

When you bring the dough home from the store, keep it in the fridge until about 1 hour before you are ready to use it. An hour out, take it from the bag and punch it down to get all of the bubbles out. Shape it back into a ball and roll it around in a bowl with a few teaspoons of olive oil (to cover the entire surface of the dough). Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place (I use the oven or microwave.. 'off' of course). After 45 minutes or so, take it out and dump it onto a cutting board with a bit of flour, punch it down again and then let it rest a few minutes. It should be easy to work with now.

I bake mine at 375 for about 5-10 minutes with nothing on it... it gets a bit crusty on top which helps it from getting soggy once you add sauce and stuff. Then another 15-20 minutes with all of your toppings!

Pizza stones are awesome, it makes a huge difference with the crust. Sprinkle cornmeal on it to keep the dough from sticking... you can use butter or oil but cornmeal helps it to cook more evenly throughout (as opposed to being super crusty/dark on the bottom).

GL! HTH Big Smile

glitterfish 213 · March 2011

I love the premade pizza dough from Trader Joe's...mmm I think I know what's for dinner now

celineg · March 2011

williams4me:

Hmmm...I don't have any tips, I usually just use a store bought pre-made pizza crust and then add whatever we want on it.

I did want to mention one of the best pizza I ever made (not very healthy I know) I substituted mashed potatoes instead of pizza sauce, then covered the potatoes with mozzerella and cheddar cheese, and bacon (for DH), and then cooked in oven. I made it for the guys last football season, the personal pan sizes for appetizers ....they LOVED it. I know it sounds weird, but seriously if you like mashed potatoes like I do it's amazing! Sorry I couldn't answer your question though lol

Yes I do the same thing! My favorite way of making it though is a little different, I spread sour cream instead of pizza sauce, add cooked & cubed potatoes, caramelized onions and bacon, top with mozzarella cheese and thin slices of brie. DH loves it!

MDT082010 · March 2011

jinx75:
What was bad about it? I always use the Chef Boyardee pizza kit dough. I use the sauce that comes with the kit on my and DD's pizza and I buy the Contina's sauce on DH's pizza. I also use the Kraft Italian shredded cheese.

The problems the first time:

Issue #1 - Dough was tearing in the process of stretching it.

Issue#2 - Too many toppings so the dough wouldn't cook through.

jinx75 · March 2011

MDT082010:

jinx75:
What was bad about it? I always use the Chef Boyardee pizza kit dough. I use the sauce that comes with the kit on my and DD's pizza and I buy the Contina's sauce on DH's pizza. I also use the Kraft Italian shredded cheese.

The problems the first time:

Issue #1 - Dough was tearing in the process of stretching it.

Issue#2 - Too many toppings so the dough wouldn't cook through.

Do you drizzle oil over the dough while it's resting (before forming it to the pizza pan)? You also need to make sure you coat your hands with oil or butter or something so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

MDT082010 · March 2011

ohbabyoh:

I make pizza at home all of the time! H is a bit of a food snob so he doesn't like to order in. I love making breads from scratch so I have fun making the dough myself.

What went wrong the last time? Was the dough too tough, or too doughy?

When you bring the dough home from the store, keep it in the fridge until about 1 hour before you are ready to use it. An hour out, take it from the bag and punch it down to get all of the bubbles out. Shape it back into a ball and roll it around in a bowl with a few teaspoons of olive oil (to cover the entire surface of the dough). Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place (I use the oven or microwave.. 'off' of course). After 45 minutes or so, take it out and dump it onto a cutting board with a bit of flour, punch it down again and then let it rest a few minutes. It should be easy to work with now.

I bake mine at 375 for about 5-10 minutes with nothing on it... it gets a bit crusty on top which helps it from getting soggy once you add sauce and stuff. Then another 15-20 minutes with all of your toppings!

Pizza stones are awesome, it makes a huge difference with the crust. Sprinkle cornmeal on it to keep the dough from sticking... you can use butter or oil but cornmeal helps it to cook more evenly throughout (as opposed to being super crusty/dark on the bottom).

GL! HTH

The problem the first time was too many toppings and too doughy. I have no idea what happened. It was a disaster.

I'm making a margarita pizza with buffalo mozzarella and basil.

Thank you so much for your directions. I have the dough resting in the fridge and when I get home tonight I'll take it out and follow your directions. I'll try the cornmeal because I didn't use that last time and I think that's why the dough was stuck to the pan.

MDT082010 · March 2011

glitterfish 213:
I love the premade pizza dough from Trader Joe's...mmm I think I know what's for dinner now

That's where I got the dough from. I love that it is whole wheat!

MDT082010 · March 2011

williams4me:

Hmmm...I don't have any tips, I usually just use a store bought pre-made pizza crust and then add whatever we want on it.

I did want to mention one of the best pizza I ever made (not very healthy I know) I substituted mashed potatoes instead of pizza sauce, then covered the potatoes with mozzerella and cheddar cheese, and bacon (for DH), and then cooked in oven. I made it for the guys last football season, the personal pan sizes for appetizers ....they LOVED it. I know it sounds weird, but seriously if you like mashed potatoes like I do it's amazing! Sorry I couldn't answer your question though lol

That sounds amazing - I will give it a try. Like you said perfect for football season!

ohbabyoh · March 2011

MDT082010:

The problem the first time was too many toppings and too doughy. I have no idea what happened. It was a disaster.

I'm making a margarita pizza with buffalo mozzarella and basil.

Thank you so much for your directions. I have the dough resting in the fridge and when I get home tonight I'll take it out and follow your directions. I'll try the cornmeal because I didn't use that last time and I think that's why the dough was stuck to the pan.

Letting it rest/rise at a warm temperature (or even room temp) should definitely help to make it more manageable. If it still doesn't roll out without falling apart, try kneading it for a few minutes. If you like a really thin, crispy crust, take some excess dough away and use it for breadsticks or something!

jkfranklin · March 2011

MDT082010:

Issue#2 - Too many toppings so the dough wouldn't cook through.

Par baking the crust will help with this if you plan to put a lot of toppings on it. Also you can cover the pizza with a aluminum foil tent on top if the cheese is getting brown but the crust isn't done.

williams4me · March 2011

MDT082010:
williams4me:

Hmmm...I don't have any tips, I usually just use a store bought pre-made pizza crust and then add whatever we want on it.

I did want to mention one of the best pizza I ever made (not very healthy I know) I substituted mashed potatoes instead of pizza sauce, then covered the potatoes with mozzerella and cheddar cheese, and bacon (for DH), and then cooked in oven. I made it for the guys last football season, the personal pan sizes for appetizers ....they LOVED it. I know it sounds weird, but seriously if you like mashed potatoes like I do it's amazing! Sorry I couldn't answer your question though lol

That sounds amazing - I will give it a try. Like you said perfect for football season!

Yeah, it's the perfect time to make stuff like that when diet is out the window anyways since everything is being washed down by beer! Big Smile

smallfry5909 · March 2011

Italian Seasoning + Garlic Powder + Crushed red pepper flakes = Heavenly seasoning and an awesome pizza!

xnbride · March 2011

I use the dough from Winco. I make a full size pizza or sometimes I make mini pizzas (that is the most user friendly way). Make sure you don't put too much sauce because it won't cook through. I usually have to cook it a little longer then the directions call for because our oven kind of sucks. I also like to put butter on the bottom and it turns out really tasty.

MDT082010 · March 2011

xnbride:
I use the dough from Winco. I make a full size pizza or sometimes I make mini pizzas (that is the most user friendly way). Make sure you don't put too much sauce because it won't cook through. I usually have to cook it a little longer then the directions call for because our oven kind of sucks. I also like to put butter on the bottom and it turns out really tasty.

MMM...butter on the bottom sounds yummy.

luckylady55 · March 2011

Do you have a bread machine? We always make our dough in the bread machine. Then I roll it out brush it with butter and sprinkle it with garlic salt and pre bake for about 10 mins. Then add sauce topping and cheese and viola!!

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