November 11, 2011
updated
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Want that fancy brick oven pizza at home? Now you can with this easy, pizza dough recipe!
Why pay $18 for a pizza that can be made at home for much less? The trick is not only in the dough but also the oven temperature and a pizza stone, of course.
While a pizza stone isn’t necessary to make homemade pizza (this recipe will turn out fine if you put it on a cookie sheet), it’s definitely a good investment if your house loves pizza as much as mine.
The pizza crust recipe below makes a flavorful, crispy crust that tastes like the pizza is fresh from a brick oven!
Last week, I taught a friend of mine how to make this homemade pizza dough and we ended up having a fun pizza night with family and friends. In fact, pizza night has become a Friday night staple at my house.
How to Host a Family Pizza Night
On pizza night, my kitchen island becomes my dough rolling and topping assembly station. Everyone waits their turn, and one by one, we cook them while we chat and share appetizers.
The added bonus is that the pizza is only in the oven for about 7 to 9 minutes, so we use that time to prepare the next one. I am telling you, it’s so much fun! The kids can select their own toppings, and adults can use whatever I have in my fridge.
When I invite guests over, I often tell them that they need to bring the toppings they would like on their own pizza. I provide the dough and expertise. It’s good family fun and an inexpensive night in!
If some one in your group doesn’t eat grains, they don’t have to miss out on the fun. Try my grain free pizza dough for a pizza night everyone can enjoy together!
If you can’t quite decide what to make for dinner the rest of the week, grab a free meal plan with delicious family-friendly recipes just like this one right here.
Best Pizza Toppings List
The sky is the limit when it comes to pizza toppings but I do have my favorite combinations that I always go back to. Try one of these ideas to get you started:
- Greek Pizza -perfectly cheesy, crispy and has all the Mediterranean flavors you love.
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza – made with slow cooker buffalo chicken and topped with blue cheese crumbles and Ranch dressing.
- Taco Pizza – your favorite taco ingredients onto a cheesy, melty, pizza crust.
Or, if you just want to play with your own toppings and combinations, here’s some inspiration:
Best Pizza Sauces
Cheeses
- Mozzarella
- Cheddar
- Parmesan
- Feta
- Brie
- Blue Cheese
Meats
- Pepperoni
- Chicken
- Sausage
- Ground Beef
- Ham
- Anchovies
Vegetables
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Spinach
- Artichoke Hearts
- Avocado
More!
- Pineapple
- Pears
- Olives
- Basil
- Cilantro
How will you top your homemade pizza first?
Homemade Brick Oven Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- Sliced turkey pepperoni
Instructions
- All the ingredients must be at room temperature. Warm the water to approximately 110F.
- Add the sugar and yeast to the water, and stir. Let it stand for 10 minutes on the counter until the yeast has formed foam.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, olive oil, and salt.
- Mix in the yeast liquid, and knead by hand for about 10 minutes, until a pizza dough ball can be formed. In a mixer, mix for about 5 minutes on medium speed.
- Roll out the dough, and make a ball. Let the dough ball rest inside a bowl for about 2 hours until the dough has doubled. You can make it in the morning or the night before and store it in the fridge. The dough must rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before rolling it out.
- Preheat the oven to 500F with the pizza stone in the oven on the lowest possible rack (remove other unused racks prior to preheating).
- Roll out the dough to make one extra-large pizza or individual-size pizzas.
- Add your toppings.
- Insert the pizza into the oven (with the help of a pizza paddle or a floured back side of a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Enjoy!
Theresa
My go to pizza crust, In the oven or outside brick oven, it turns out great.
MOMables - Laura
thank you for sharing this is your go-to pizza crust!
amany
I followed the recipe as written but i had flour that wasnt incorporated when neading by hand. I added more water to get it all incorporated and put it in the mixer. What am I doing wrong? Also, whats the consistency that Im looking for with the dough?
MOMables - Laura
Any flour that is not incorporated should be left on the counter. No additional water is needed in this recipe. The consistency you want is slightly tacky, but when you touch it, it doesn’t stick to your hands.
Mark
Can you thaw the frozen pizza before final baking. Thank you
MOMables
Absolutely.
Beth
Hi there! I’m so excited to try your recipe for crispy crust pizza! When I do I’ll let you know how it turns out! Also I have been diagnosed with type two diabetes and would like to know if you can make up some recipes for me as well as others to use which includes the Paleo diet. Hope to hear from you soon .
Stephanie Schneller
Hi Beth, we have a lot of grain free recipes / paleo on this site. You can also check out Laura’s third cookbook, The Best Grain-Free Family Meals on the Planet.
Jill
Great recipe. Crispy cracker like crust. Thank you!
MOMables
No problem, Jill! Glad you enjoyed it. :)
Nikki
If I don’t have bread flour can I use all purpose?
MOMables
absolutely!
Nikki
I’ve made this twice now and my family loves it! (Thanks for the quick response on the flour situation)… My next question is about rack placement in the oven. My cheese keeps burning if I set the temp to 500. I tried lowering my oven back to 450 the second time but the crust wasn’t as good. Should I put the pizza stone on a lower rack?
Also, have you tried using a tortilla press for personal size pizzas? I figure if it’s going to become a Friday mainstay it could potentially make my life a lot easier… Hahahahaha…
MOMables
Hi Nikki! I’m thrilled your family loves it! Let’s see… the stone should be placed at the bottom of the oven. I place the oven rack at the lowest setting and then the stone on top. the stone should go in the middle if baked at a lower temperature. I hope this helps! :)
Nikki
Me again! Hahahahaha. Sorry to bother you. Still LOVING the pizza! Just wondering if you use your pizza stone for anything other than pizza? I used my regular baking stone and it is BURNED TO A CRISP. Just wondering if it is something I am doing wrong.
MOMables
Nikki, I don’t know exactly what might be going wrong in your oven. This is the pizza stone I own. Check out this post and see how it comes out.
Nikki
I bought the stone that you recommended and got it from amazon today. I am so excited to use it tonight! Thanks for everything! The instructions for the stone say that I can leave it in the oven always and it won’t affect any other cooking? Do you leave yours in you oven always?
MOMables
My stone is at the bottom of my oven all the time Nikki. When I make pizza at 500F I leave it down there as well. You need to pre-heat the stone as the oven preheats too. Enjoy!
Rebecca
Can you use whole wheat flour?
MOMables
Only whole wheat pastry flour or 50/50 whole wheat and white. If you use 100% regular whole wheat it will be very dense.
Beard
The general consensus I’ve read is pizza crust turns out best and most authentic when placed directly on the oven rack, not on a stone or pan. This is how I do my pies,. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
Laura
When you make your own pizza dough it’s not possible to place it on the rack. When a stone is heated to 500-550 degrees F, the heat penetrates from all directions (exactly what you are doing when placing it directly on the rack). The few times we’ve bought a frozen pizza, we have placed it on the rack… but my family won’t eat them anymore!
Michelle
Great post! We do our pizza in the Weber grill. You can get a pizza stone for the Weber – Tastes great.