Let us be real! Pizza stands as one of the leading food we all love, anytime, any day. Despite being native to Italy primarily, pizza is the most popular go-to food option at a global level. Around 98% of Americans eat pizza. According to another research, 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second in the United States. Isn’t that crazy! Having and making a homemade pizza is another perk! However, you must know how to make the best homemade pizza. This article will guide you on that. To bake pizza on a pizza stone is an art we all agree on.
Even the taste, texture, and feel are on another level. Making homemade pizza can be quite easy. Many people ask can they bake pizza using a regular oven. Well, the answer is yes, you can! However, you might need a pizza stone. Cooking pizza becomes pretty easy as you learn and practice over time. You do not need that special pizza oven to cook pizza at home.
In this article, we will tell you how to make homemade pizza dough. Next, we will shed light on making homemade pizza in a regular oven using a pizza stone or baking stone.
First, let us learn what a pizza stone is.
What Is A Pizza Stone?
While a pizza stone is durable, hefty, and heats up like a real stone, it isn’t a genuine stone. A pizza stone is usually a circular piece of unglazed clay with a thickness of about one inch. They’re designed to fit inside your oven, so they’re generally tiny enough to fit on an ordinary oven rack.
Most conventional household ovens are not hot enough to properly cook certain types of pizza, which is why pizza stones were invented. Thin crust varieties, such as Neapolitan and New York pizzas, tend to be overlooked because of the lower heat in a home oven, which is why the crust isn’t quite right even if you spend hours on end perfecting the ideal pizza dough.
A pizza stone is an excellent heat conductor. It retains a lot of heat for a long time, which is what a real pizza brick oven does. The higher temperature mimics the impact of a brick oven in that it raises the temperature and gives an extra-hot surface to bake on. The increased heat allows you to create a perfect pizza crust while also cutting down on baking time to less than 10 minutes, making you appear like a genuine pizzaiolo.
How To Use A Pizza Stone With Regular Oven?
The right approach to cooking with a pizza stone is simple. Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Place your pizza stone on the lowest rack of your cold oven. This is critical: never put a frozen (or room temperature) pizza stone in a hot oven since this can lead to thermal shock, which might result in your pizza stone shattering or even exploding.
After your oven has reached the correct temperature, set aside 30 additional minutes for the pizza stone to preheat. Meanwhile, allow your dough to come to room temperature. When the oven is too hot, placing cold pizza dough on a hot stone may cause it to shatter. With experience, most pizzas cook in around eight to 10 minutes on a pizza stone.
Keep in mind that the clay pizza stone is porous, so it can absorb tastes and odors. That being said, if you want to be daring with your pizza dough flavorings, be careful what you put in there. Anchovies may be delicious in your pizza crust, but anchovy-flavored pizzas might linger for a long time.
Now, if you ever go shopping for a pizza stone, you will see they are sold with a pizza peel. What is a pizza peel? Let us find out.
What Is A Pizza Peel?
If you’ve ever considered buying a pizza stone, you’ve probably come across the term “pizza peel.” Keep in mind that while the pizza stone remains in the oven, you don’t have to remove it as you do with a baking sheet or a pizza pan.
Because of the intense heat, you’ll need a technique to quickly transport your pizza to and from the stone without getting burned. Pizza peels are like pizza spatulas with big paddles that assist you in moving pizzas between the stone and yourself.
The first step in making your homemade pizza is to make your pizza dough. No need to get your dough from the market. After that, we can get to make your homemade pizza. This homemade pizza recipe is bound to make a mark. Plus, it is healthy.
Making A Homemade Pizza Dough
Are you prepared to make the finest homemade pizza dough ever?
To get started with your homemade pizza dough, here’s what you’ll need:
- Dry Yeast (Active)
- Olive Oil
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Warm Water
Preparing Homemade Pizza Dough
Fill a large bowl halfway with warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Add sugar to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Gently mix for 5 minutes before resting to double in size, about 5 minutes.
On low, add all ingredients to the mixer and mix until smooth. Scrape the bowl’s sides and let the mixer knead for 5 minutes once all of the ingredients have been combined. If necessary, use flour or water to clean the sides of the bowl while kneading.
After 5 minutes of kneading, remove the dough from the mixing bowl with floured hands (lightly flour your hands and rub together), then place it on a clean countertop. Fold the dough in half several times before shaping it into a ball. You may also use the dough to make pizza and calzones from here.
Finally! – Time To Assemble & Bake Your Homemade Pizza
When ready, place dough onto a pizza, pressing to a 12-inch round, or larger for a more thin crust. Spoon the pizza sauce of your choice over the dough leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. We would recommend you add homemade tomato sauce. Garnish with shredded mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you like.
Then, for about 15 minutes in a preheated regular oven at four hundred degrees, bake your homemade pizza until the crust is crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy your homemade pizza with a glass of red wine! Along with that, read more informative articles below.
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