Uppie's Farmhand[pb_blockquote author=”Bill Murray”]”Unless you are a pizza,
the answer is yes, I can live without you.” [/pb_blockquote]
When it comes to food photography, pizza probably isn’t the sexiest thing out there in the world. But when it comes to straight up comfort food, it’s hard to imagine a food with a more universal appeal.
While most of the cooking falls to Uppie, there are a few places where I step in, and making pizza is one of them. We probably both grill equally, so it’s not terribly traditional, but I’m more of a baker, and she’s more of a cook. I like exact measurements and a slave to a timer, and she barely follows a recipe and just seems to know when something is done.
If a hoagie or a cheesesteak is arguably, all about the roll, then pizza is all about the dough. Sure a superheated pizza oven makes a world of difference, but in the genre of homemade pizza making, it is mostly about the dough.
If you want to learn how to make killer pizza dough, read our post about it here. In addition to the recipe and my notes, you probably need to make a few dozen pizzas before you actually get good it. No one wants to hear that, but it’s always true. Practice makes perfect.
Once you have your dough all ready, get ready to throw it. I use a marble top that I bought from Ikea about 30 years ago. It’s nothing special, I’ve just had it forever. Flour the surface and work your dough into a pie shape. NEVER use a rolling pin. You might as well go buy a frozen pizza if you’re going to do that. You want to work the dough carefully. It’s not hard, but takes a little practice. Watch this guy’s video here.
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Notes on making good, thin-crust pizza:
- Use either a pizza stone or pizza steel. This is critical if you want decent pizza at home. The steel is better, but the stone works too.
- Preheat your oven to 500°. This could take 30-60 minutes. Make sure it’s good and hot.
- Start with good dough, using 00 flour. See recipe here.
- Stretch the dough out by hand, taking your time, and letting it rest periodically. See instructions here.
- Place the dough on a pizza peel that you’ve already sprinkled with corn meal. This keeps the dough from sticking to your peel and lets it slide off easily.
- Lightly brush the edges with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
- Spoon your sauce on with a spoon. You don’t need a ladle. A large spoon will do.
- Go easy on the sauce. You’re barely covering the dough here. It’s for flavor, it’s not a soup. This isn’t Chicago.
- Add the cheese. Go lightly on the cheese as well. More is not better. Ever. You should see the dough through the cheese in most places.
- Use only Whole Milk Mozzarella. Some people say you should always grate your own because they put additives to prevent the shredded from sticking together, but I can’t tell the difference and the pre-shredded is easier.
- Add any toppings. I tend to stick to plain, pepperoni or Jalapeños, but Uppie likes just about anything you can eat on hers.
- Put it in the oven and wait about 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is browning. We like ours a little well done.
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When it’s done, use a pizza wheel to slice it up and serve. You can add Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and even salt and pepper. Eat it and make another one.
Post your own pizzas and tag us on social media, we want to see them. @uppieskitchen #uppiespizza
Uppie's Farmhand
