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I am a judgment matchmaking specialist (Judgment Broker) who writes a lot. This article is my opinionabout how to make pizza at home. Look for my other article on making super-healthy pizza crusts.
First the pizza sauce, you can buy sauce or make your own. Here is a good recipe for sauce, that makes enough for three big pizzas, and keeps well in the refrigerator:
Two, fifteen-ounce cans of tomato sauce. Two, six-ounce cans of tomato paste. One teaspoon of onion powder. 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. One half teaspoon of anise seed. 1/2 teaspoon of basil powder. Three tablespoons of sugar. 1 teaspoon of pizza seasoning (I prefer Frontier Pizza salt-free brand).
Mix these ingredients in a large bowl with a big fork for several minutes to blend the tomato paste with the sauce, and to mix the seasonings. Then, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for several hours or more, to let the flavors diffuse.
In addition to pizza sauce, you must have a pizza crust. You can buy them or bake your own. My previous article has a recipe for a whole wheat crust that is fiber-rich. If you bought a pizza crust or shell, it probably does not require to be precooked. Home made dough is always be precooked.
If you have dough, preheat a pizza stone (baking stone) in the oven at 350 degrees. Take the dough out of the bowl, and put it on a plastic baking mat. Plastic mats work best on cutting boards made of wood.
If you have dough, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a circle, about 18 inches wide, or to match your pizza screen size. When the rolling is done, place the pizza screen on the dough. Flip the plastic mat upside down, and carefully roll the dough onto the pizza screen. If any parts of the dough extends past the pizza screen, fold it back.
Then, put the pizza screen with the dough in the oven, and precook the crust for about fifteen minutes. Then take it out, and place it on the cutting board, or another heat-proof surface. Then, turn the oven up to 450 to 480 degrees.
To assemble your pizza, spread the sauce on it. What cheese should you use for your pizza? Usually, 2 kinds of cheese works best. I recommend about 4 ounces of Monterey jack and eight ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese. If you use a second cheese, cut it into cubes. I put 1/2 inch cubes of Monterey jack on the pizza, especially an inch away from the edges, then mozzarella, then I put the toppings on.
What toppings will you pick? Most toppings like mushrooms, meats, and peppers, should be microwaved or cooked first, to cook them most of the way, and the liquids drained first, to avoid a soggy pizza. If the toppings are too hot, a large knife or cleaver may be used to hold them, and you can flick them onto the pizza.
After all the toppings are on the pizza, bake it for about ten to twelve minutes, checking it at 8 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted, and just a little bit brown. When it is done, turn off the oven.
Then, take the pizza out, and put it on the cutting board. Using both a big knife and an oven mitt at the same time works well to move a heavy pizza out of a hot oven. It is a good idea to first cover the cutting board with paper towels.
When the pizza is safely out of the oven, slide the pizza off the metal screen, onto the cutting board. Occasionally you need to use a knife to run under the screen, to gently push away any stuck areas of the pizza from the screen. Move the screen back in the oven, and let it cool there.
This is the hard part - leave the pizza alone for at least 1/2 an hour. It will be a big pizza, and it will stay very hot for a long time. Then, slice it with a cleaver or big knife and enjoy. Wrap leftovers in tin foil, but not when the slices are hot, because they may stick to the tin foil. The pizza will be very good.
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