This selfmade cheese pizza recipe has a chewy crust, effervescent mozzarella, and a daring 5-minute sauce. It’s straightforward to make and higher than supply.
There’s a cause cheese pizza by no means goes out of favor. There’s one thing a few punchy tomato sauce and a load of gooey, melty mozzarella that makes everybody completely satisfied (particularly children, in fact!).
As a selfmade pizza afficionado who’s perfected every part from Margherita pizza to taco pizzaI’ve really made this cheese pizza recipe extra occasions than I can depend. It tastes like your favourite supply cheese pizza, however roughly 1 million occasions higher. The sauce is further tomato-y, the cheese is further tacky, and the crust is completely chewy. Need to know my secrets and techniques?
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Chewy, crispy crust: The selfmade pizza dough recipe I take advantage of has been examined and refined over a decade of house baking and has a great deal of optimistic reader evaluations.
- Simply the quantity of tacky: Utilizing each recent mozzarella and shredded mozzarella makes one of the best stretchy, melty layer
- Child-friendly crowd pleaser: There aren’t many individuals who will flip this one down
- Customizable: Begin traditional, then department out into variations with totally different cheeses or crust kinds
What You’ll Want
For the Pizza
- Tipo 00 flour, bread flour, or all goal flour: The Italian Tipo 00 flour is the important thing to one of the best pizza dough, in my view! However bread flour pizza dough can also be scrumptious, with a chewier crust. All-purpose flour works too: the feel is just not as fluffy and chewy however it’s nonetheless good.
- Yeast, olive oil, and salt: These spherical out the crust components.
- Canned fire-roasted crushed tomatoes: Hearth-roasted tomatoes convey a candy, barely smoky taste that common crushed tomatoes don’t have.
- Garlic and dried oregano: Rounds out the sauce components, together with olive oil.
- Contemporary mozzarella cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese: The mixture of gooey recent mozzarella and stretchy shredded mozzarella make magic right here.
- Parmesan cheese: Non-obligatory however really helpful; a lightweight sprinkle provides a salty depth.
Instruments
- Pizza stone (extremely really helpful): That is the important thing to getting a crispy crust in a house oven. See my information to find out how to use a pizza stone.
- Pizza peel (really helpful): This software helps you to slide the pizza onto the recent stone safely. I like to recommend this customary pizza peel as a superb starter choice. If you happen to make a variety of pizza like I do, this conveyor pizza peel makes issues even simpler (although it’s a bit extra expensive).
- Stand mixer: It’s best to make the pizza dough utilizing a stand mixer, however it’s also possible to knead it by hand.
Watch Alex stretch and form the dough from begin to end! It’s about 90 seconds and the most effective methods to get comfy with the method earlier than you begin.
The right way to Make This Cheese Pizza Recipe
Listed below are the fundamental steps for this pizza recipe (when you’re able to get began, leap to the recipe):
- Step 1: Make the pizza dough. Observe my Greatest Pizza Dough recipe. it takes about quarter-hour to combine and knead, then 45 minutes to relaxation. Or, see the variations under for some simpler choices.
- Step 2: Preheat. Place a pizza stone on the middle rack and preheat oven to 500°F. It’s finest to preheat for about half-hour.
- Step 3: Make the pizza sauce. Mix canned fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, dried oregano, and salt till easy. Full directions in my Straightforward Pizza Sauce recipe!
- Step 4: Stretch the dough. Mud a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina. Stretch the dough right into a tough circle. See my information on The right way to Stretch Pizza Dough.
- Step 5: Assemble. Unfold a skinny layer of pizza sauce over the dough, then add items of recent mozzarella and the shredded mozzarella. Sprinkle with garlic powder, dried oregano, a pinch of parmesan cheese, and some pinches of kosher salt.
- Step 6: Bake. Use the peel to slip the pizza straight onto the recent pizza stone. Bake about 5 to 7 minutes, till the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. You can too make it in a pizza oven: see my Ooni pizza guides for extra.
Ideas for Good Pizza
Listed below are a number of widespread questions in the case of selfmade pizza:
- Observe the recipe instructions for crust that’s not too soggy or dense. Ensure that to preheat the pizza stone correctly, and add solely a skinny layer of sauce to stop soggy cryst. Ensure that the water is heat (not sizzling) whenever you combine the dough, and let it relaxation the complete 45 minutes to ensure it’s ethereal and never dense.
- Use a pizza stone when you can, or make pan pizza. You may bake this pizza on a baking sheet: it gained’t be as crispy, however it’s going to nonetheless style good. Or, make Sheet Pan Pizza as an alternative!
- Let refrigerated dough come to room temperature. Ensure that to let refrigerated pizza dough come to room temperature earlier than stretching. Chilly dough is stiff and exhausting to work with. If it retains shrinking, cowl it and let it relaxation for one more 10 minutes.
Easy Variations to Strive
For the pizza dough for this cheese pizza, listed below are a number of dough recipe choices:
- Skinny crust: My Skinny Crust Pizza Dough makes a thinner dough that you simply roll out: it’s simpler to work with and makes a lighter pizza.
- Pan pizza: My Sheet Pan Pizza is even simpler and doesn’t require a pizza stone! It makes the equal of three medium pizzas directly. You can too make a Pan Pizza in a forged iron skillet.
- All shredded mozzarella: Skip the recent and add a bit extra shredded mozzarella for a extra New York–model pizza with an evenly melted, golden high.
- Cheese mix: Combine in a bit provolone or fontina, or Pecorino romano and gorgonzola for a Quattro Formaggi pizza impact.
- Burrata cheese: Use the favored cream stuffed mozzarella on pizza for a subsequent stage expertise! Strive my Traditional Burrata Pizza.
The right way to Serve It
The primary time I made this pizza recipe, I served to my nephews and son for a sleepover with carrot sticks and wholesome ranch dressing (and Strawberry Daiquiris for the adults!). Listed below are a number of nice sides to go together with pizza:
Storing Leftovers
Retailer leftover cheese pizza refrigerated for as much as 3 days.
To reheat, place slices in a dry skillet over medium-low warmth with a lid on high for 3 to 4 minutes. The underside crisps up whereas the steam from the lid melts the cheese. You probably have an air fryer, it additionally works nice for reheating pizza.
Dietary Notes
This cheese pizza recipe is vegetarian.
Often Requested Questions
Entire milk shredded mozzarella is the gold customary for melting and browning. I like to mix it with recent mozzarella for an excellent cheesier end result. You can too use a cheese mix: provolone, fontina, or a lightweight sprinkle of parmesan cheese all work properly.
All the time sauce first. Unfold the pizza sauce in a skinny, even layer earlier than including any cheese.
Use a preheated pizza stone (45 minutes minimal at 500°F) and a skinny layer of sauce. Utilizing Tipo 00 or bread flour in your pizza dough additionally contributes to a chewier, crispier pizza crust. If you need a skinny crispy crust, attempt my Skinny Crust Pizza Dough.
At 500°F on a preheated pizza stone, a selfmade cheese pizza takes about 5 to 7 minutes to bake.
Home made Cheese Pizza
Why order out when you can also make a stellar cheese pizza at house? This one is like your favourite supply pizza, however infinitely tastier.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Prepare dinner Time: 7 minutes
- Whole Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 1 pizza (8 slices) 1x
- Class: Essential Dish
- Methodology: Baked
- Delicacies: American
- Make the pizza dough: Observe the Greatest Pizza Dough recipe to organize the dough. (This takes about quarter-hour to make and 45 minutes to relaxation.)
- Place a pizza stone within the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (right here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Make the pizza sauce: Make the Straightforward Pizza Sauce.
- Put together the toppings: Slice or tear the recent mozzarella into small items.
- Bake the pizza: When the oven is prepared, mud a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you happen to don’t have a pizza peel, you should use a rimless baking sheet or the again of a rimmed baking sheet. However a pizza peel is properly well worth the funding!) Stretch the dough right into a circle; see The right way to Stretch Pizza Dough for directions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Unfold the pizza sauce over the dough utilizing the again of a spoon to create a skinny layer. Add the items of recent mozzarella cheese evenly throughout the dough, then high with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the garlic powder, dried oregano, and some pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to rigorously switch the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza till the cheese and crust are properly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes within the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven). Slice into items and serve instantly.
Notes
- No pizza stone? Use a baking sheet and when you can, preheat it earlier than utilizing (watch out when transferring the pizza to and from the sheet). Or, use my Sheet Pan Pizza recipe.
- Retailer-bought dough: This works too! Let it come totally to room temperature earlier than stretching (enable to take a seat at room temperature for about half-hour).
- Make-ahead: Each the dough and sauce preserve within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
