Baking sheet or pizza stone
Semolina flour, white flour, cornmeal or parchment paper
Unbaked pizza round or pizza dough
Olive oil
Pizza sauce
Garlic, minced
Pepperoni, thinly sliced
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
Baking Sheet
Step 1
Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
Step 2
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of semolina or cornmeal on a baking sheet or cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 3
Place the pizza dough on the baking sheet. Stretch the dough to the desired size, shape and thickness with a rolling pin or your fingers. Thin-crust pizza dough should be 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. If using parchment paper, trim any excess paper around the dough with scissors.
Step 4
Sprinkle 1 to 2 tbsp. of olive oil on the dough. Coat the dough with the oil using a pastry brush.
Step 5
Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pizza sauce in the middle of the pizza round. Spread the sauce evenly around the dough to within 1 inch of the edge.
Step 6
Place the minced chopped garlic evenly on top of the sauce. The amount of garlic you use depends on the size of the dough and personal tastes. One minced garlic clove should suffice for a 12-inch pizza. If desired, add some dried or freshly chopped oregano or basil.
Step 7
Lay pepperoni flat on the pizza on top of the sauce. Try not to have the pepperoni pieces overlap, as it could make slicing the pizza more difficult. As the pepperoni cooks, it will release oils. Although flavorful, using more pepperoni than is needed can result in an oily pizza and soggy dough.
Step 8
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the pepperoni. Roughly 6 to 8 oz. should cover a 12-inch round. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese over the top of the dough.
Step 9
Place the baking sheet with the pizza in the preheated oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden brown, roughly 10 to 12 minutes.
Pizza Stone
Step 1
Place the oven rack on the lowest position in the oven. Dust the pizza stone lightly with white flour and place it on the oven rack. Preheat the oven to 525 degrees F. Allow the stone to heat for at least 45 minutes. Because the stone needs to heat to such a high temperature for a long period of time, semolina flour or cornmeal may burn before the pizza hits the stone.
Step 2
Lightly flour a wooden pizza peel or paddle or inverted baking sheet or cover it with parchment paper.
Step 3
Place the pizza dough on the baking sheet or peel. Stretch the dough to the desired size, shape and thickness with a rolling pin or your fingers. If using parchment paper, trim any excess paper around the dough.
Step 4
Follow steps 4 through 8 as above.
Step 5
Transfer to the prepared pizza to the preheated pizza stone using the peel or inverted baking sheet. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden brown, roughly 10 to 12 minutes.
Tips and Warnings
- Use low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese when using a pizza stone, as it will release less moisture into the pizza stone, resulting in a crispier crust. Either whole milk or part-skim mozzarella cheese is fine when cooking the pizza on a baking sheet. Try different cheeses or cheese combinations to give your pizza a new twist. Place a few tablespoons of ricotta on the pie before adding the mozzarella, use fresh mozzarella instead of dried, or try a mixture of shredded mozzarella and cheddar or provolone cheese.
- Never place a cold pizza stone into a hot oven or run a hot pizza stone under cold water, as it may crack. Do not use dish soap to clean a pizza stone, as the stone may absorb the detergent. Simply rinse with water.
Things You'll Need
- The USDA states that Americans eat the equivalent of 100 acres of pizza every day, and pepperoni is the favored topping. Despite its robust flavor and comfort-food feel, traditional pepperoni is not the healthiest food. If you can't forgo your pizza pie, use pizza dough made with whole wheat rather than white flour, and use turkey pepperoni that contains roughly half the calories of its pork or beef counterpart.
Member Comments