Dough, ovens, flour
How to make dough, pick an oven, buy the bag.
How to make pizza dough at home. Which oven you will actually light on a Tuesday. 00 flour, yeast, steel vs stone, a peel, tomatoes, mozzarella. Tick tables. Amazon links. Written as a blog — not a shop.
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Watch the bakeStretch, steel, indoor and outdoor ovens — credited YouTube clips.Open the stack →CalculatorGrams, cups, hydration — snap 1.68 cups back to a real measure.Open the calculator →
Gas, backyard, weeknightBest pizza oven for a home kitchen
Gozney Dome vs Ooni Koda 16 vs Roccbox vs Pizzello — the patio kitchen, the weeknight oven, and the budget fire.
Turn the knobBest gas pizza oven for beginners
Ooni Koda 12 first, Koda 16 when you want a real slice, Gozney Roccbox if you want a door. Why gas beats wood when you are learning.
After gasBest wood fired pizza oven
Ooni Karu 2 vs Pizzello vs Gozney Dome for wood fire at home. Why wood is a second skill, and which oven if you already stretch a round pie.
The floor of the ovenBaking steel vs pizza stone
Why a steel browns the underside faster, when a Lodge stone is enough, and which size to buy.
The bag you open firstCaputo 00 vs King Arthur pizza flour
Caputo 00 Pizzeria (blue) vs Caputo Chef’s (red) vs King Arthur 00 vs Bob’s Red Mill — which bag for which oven.
No patio requiredBest indoor pizza oven
Breville Pizzaiolo vs Cuisinart vs Presto Pizzazz — ranked by heat and how often you will use them.
The first six thingsPizza starter kit
00 flour, kosher salt, a kitchen scale, a baking steel, a peel, and a cutter. What to buy first — and what can wait.
Launch, then turnBest pizza peel: wood vs metal
Wood to launch, metal to turn. Epicurean vs a cheap wood board vs Ooni and New Star turning peels — what to buy first.
The can you crushBest San Marzano tomatoes for pizza
Cento San Marzano vs Mutti vs Rega — which can for a Margherita, and when a pizza sauce is already too cooked.
The melt, not the bagFresh mozzarella vs low-moisture for pizza
Galbani fresh vs low-moisture block — which cheese for Neapolitan, which for a New York slice, and why wet fior di latte weeps.
The search that actually mattersHow to make pizza dough
How to make pizza dough at home: Neapolitan, New York, same-day, overnight cold ferment, gluten-free — which dough, which flour, and when a bag of mix is honest.
The number on the dialPizza oven temperature
Pizza oven temperature by style: 900°F Neapolitan, 550°F New York on a steel, how long to preheat, and when an infrared gun is theatre.
Grams, not packetsBest yeast for pizza dough
SAF instant vs Fleischmann’s RapidRise vs active dry — which yeast for same-day dough, which for a cold ferment, and why a whole packet is too much.
No pot, no hourHomemade pizza sauce
Homemade pizza sauce: crushed San Marzano, salt, oil. No simmer. Why cooked sauce tastes like pasta, and which tin to buy.
Mix tonight, bake tomorrowOvernight pizza dough (cold ferment)
Overnight pizza dough: how long it can sit in the fridge, how much yeast, when to ball it, and why cold dough needs a bench rest before you stretch.
Hands, not a pinHow to stretch pizza dough
How to stretch pizza dough at home: bench rest, gravity, knuckles, why a rolling pin kills the rim, and what to dust the peel with so the pie actually launches.
The centre, not the rimWhy pizza is soggy (and how to fix it)
Why homemade pizza is soggy in the middle: wet mozzarella, too much sauce, a cold stone, underbaking. How to drain cheese, preheat a steel, and stop the floppy centre.
Heat first, soap almost neverHow to clean a pizza stone, steel, and pizza oven
How to clean a pizza stone, baking steel, Ooni or Gozney, wood peel, and cast-iron pan. Why you never soak the stone, which brush to buy, and when a pumice brick belongs on steel only.
Cheese in the rimStuffed crust pizza at home
Homemade stuffed crust pizza: string cheese or low-moisture sticks sealed in a New York rim, sauce, and pepperoni. The US search, without a chain menu.
No red sauceWhite pizza
White pizza recipe: garlic oil, low-moisture mozzarella, ricotta or fresh mozzarella, no tomato. The pie Americans order when they skip the sauce.
Hot sauce, not barbecueBuffalo chicken pizza
Buffalo chicken pizza: shredded chicken, cayenne hot sauce, mozzarella, a ranch or blue cheese finish. How it differs from BBQ chicken pizza.
The loaded oneSupreme pizza
Supreme pizza at home: pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion, and green pepper on a New York dough. Also called meat lovers when you drop the vegetables.
Cracker, not foldThin crust pizza
Thin crust pizza at home: a drier dough, a very hot steel, and less topping. How it differs from New York, tavern, and Neapolitan.
Skillet, not the microwave firstHow to reheat pizza
How to reheat leftover pizza so the bottom crisps: skillet, oven, or air fryer. Plus how to freeze pizza dough and a baked pie.
Pepperoni still winsPizza toppings
The pizza toppings North America actually orders: pepperoni, onion, sausage, mushroom, pineapple, and the ones that grew fastest. How many is too many.
The Canadian orderAll-dressed pizza
All-dressed pizza, the Canadian classic: pepperoni, mushrooms, and green pepper. How it differs from a US supreme.
It is usually the yeast or the coldPizza dough not rising
Why pizza dough is not rising: dead yeast, water that was too hot, a cold kitchen, or a fridge ferment that just looks flat. How to fix the dough you already mixed.
Wet is not the same as brokenPizza dough too sticky
What to do when pizza dough is too sticky to knead or stretch. When to add flour, when to wait, and when you simply weighed in too much water.
The fridge, then the freezerHow long pizza dough lasts
How long pizza dough lasts in the fridge and the freezer. When cold ferment tastes better, when it goes sour, and how to thaw a frozen ball.
Yes, with less waterAll-purpose flour for pizza
Can you use all-purpose flour for pizza dough? Yes. What you give up versus bread flour and 00, and how to adjust the water so the dough still stretches.
Lid down, stone hotPizza on a grill
How to cook pizza on a gas grill: a cast-iron pan or a stone, a two-zone fire, and a lid. Temperatures, timing, and why the dough sticks.
A pizza folded shutCalzone
Homemade calzone: pizza dough folded over ricotta, mozzarella, and pepperoni, sealed and baked. How it differs from a stromboli and from fried pizza fritta.
Rolled, then slicedStromboli
Homemade stromboli: pizza dough rolled around pepperoni and mozzarella, baked seam-side down, and sliced. Not a calzone.
A loaf, not a doughFrench bread pizza
French bread pizza: a split loaf, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni, baked until the cheese browns. The weeknight pie that skips the dough.
White, charred, no blanket of cheeseNew Haven clam pizza
New Haven white clam pizza at home: chopped clams, garlic, oregano, olive oil, and pecorino on a thin dough. Not a mozzarella pie with seafood on it.
Which outdoor ovenOoni vs Gozney
Ooni vs Gozney for a first pizza oven: Koda 12, Koda 16, Roccbox, and the Dome. Gas, wood, pie size, and who should spend more.
A knife, or a foldDeep dish vs thin crust
Deep dish vs thin crust: time, pan, cheese, and how to eat it. Chicago deep dish against a New York slice and a tavern cracker.
Look at the bottomHow to tell a pizza is done
How to tell when pizza is done: spotted underside, bubbling cheese, a rim that is cooked through. Different signs for a home oven, a pizza oven, deep dish, and a calzone.