5 Steps for Making Restaurant-Quality Pizza at Home
If you think it is impossible to make restaurant-quality at home, think again.
A tasty pizza need not be elaborate. The secret is in the quality of your ingredients and your methods. And while not everyone has a brick oven at home, you can still make your favorite pizza within the comforts of your home.
Step 1: Do the Dough
In case you are unaware, the excellent dough is the foundation of a restaurant-style pizza.
If you want to achieve a pizza that tastes closely as the one you always buy in the restaurant, forget about the pre-baked pizza crust. Bobby Flay has a quick pizza dough recipe that you can follow.
The best part? You can use your processor to mix all the ingredients! There is no need to exert too much effort until you reach the kneading part.
But if you are pressed for time to make your pizza dough, you can buy one in your grocery store’s deli section.
Step 2: Preheat Your Oven
Whether you are using an electric oven or a brick oven, it must be hot enough.
Set your oven to its hottest setting for preheating. And do not forget to place your pizza stone in the oven. Please put it in the upper portion of your over to heat for a full hour.
That way, it can absorb your oven’s heat, giving you a perfectly crisp crust.
Step 3: Make the Sauce
Aside from a pizza dough made from scratch, a homemade pizza sauce is also vital.
But instead of using fresh tomatoes, we recommend canned tomatoes. That’s because they have consistent quality and the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity.
Pulse your canned tomatoes in a food processor. Once done, let it simmer with olive oil, minced onion, and garlic. Add salt to taste.
Et voila! You now have a homemade pizza sauce.
Let the sauce cool before you add on your dough.
Step 4: Add Your Toppings
Depending on what pizza you would like to make, this is the part where you add your toppings.
When it comes to pizza toppings, keep in mind that less is more.
Simplicity is key to a restaurant-style pizza. Plus, you go after the quality of ingredients instead of their quantity.
Four to five mozzarella slices from a local dairy store will have better flavor and texture than a store-bought, shredded cheese.
Once your pizza is ready, set it on the pizza stone in the oven.
Step 5: Let Your Pizza Bake
Now that your pizza is set in the oven, let it bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese melts and the dough has risen and turns golden.
The key here is to keep an eye on your pizza. Once you think it is done, please remove it from the oven as quickly as you can. Add more toppings like fresh herbs before slicing and serving.
And, that’s it! You now have a homemade, restaurant-style pizza.
Some Pizza Baking Tips You Need to Know
Now that you know how to make a restaurant-quality pizza at home, here are best practices that you should keep in mind:
Let the Dough Rise
Letting your dough rise allows it to develop flavor. Hence, you should let your dough rise in a warm environment. If you roll the dough and appear to be elastic, let it rest for a few minutes.
Dust Your Board With Cornmeal
Once you are ready to cut your dough, we suggest dusting your cutting board with cornmeal. It makes it easy for you to get the pizza from the oven, and it also gives a nice crunch.
Add a Thin Layer of Sauce
If you want your pizza to stay crunchy, get steady on the sauce. Just add a thin layer of sauce. Otherwise, your pizza crust will be soggy.
Do it Swiftly
The tricky part in making a restaurant-style pizza at home is setting your dough in the pizza stone swiftly. That’s because you do not want to keep the oven door open for long. Otherwise, it will cool down.
You also do not want your pizza to pleat or fold while transferring it. But this is where the cornmeal dust comes in handy.
Enjoy Your Homemade Restaurant-style Pizza!
Whether it is Neapolitan-style or crispy thin, we understand if you live for a good slice of pizza.
You do not necessarily have to be a veteran to make a restaurant-quality pizza at home. You do not even need a pizza oven to do it (although having one is cool)!
What’s important is that you are using quality ingredients and taking the time to make the pizza dough from scratch. Doing so is just half the fun.
Because the next thing you know, your pizza nights can spice up date night with your partner or level up your family time.
