If you want to make a white pizza, add a little extra olive oil and skip the pizza sauce. [2] X Research source You can make a quick pizza sauce using tomato paste, a can of diced tomatoes, and some spices. Simmer the paste and tomatoes (without draining them first) together over low heat. Add salt, oregano and pepper to taste. Continue simmering until the sauce cooks down to the consistency of pizza sauce.
Other than pepperoni and ham which are pre-cooked, meat toppings should always be cooked before you put them on the pizza. They’ll get heated when you bake the pizza, but they won’t fully cook. If you’re using ground beef, sausage, chicken, or another meat, cook it thoroughly in a pan on the stove or in the oven and drain the grease before you add it to your pizza. Remember that if you add too many vegetable toppings, your pizza crust may turn out a little soggy. The water from the vegetables moistens the dough. Limit the amount of spinach and other “watery” vegetables you put on your pizza if you’re worried about this happening. Plus, precooking the watery vegetables will remove the bitterness and add the crunch[4] X Research source
If you’re working by hand, the dough will become difficult to stir when it starts to thicken. Put down the spoon and knead the dough until it reaches the right texture. If the dough looks wet after you’ve been mixing or kneading it for a long time, add some flour to dry it it up a little.
You can let the dough rise in the refrigerator instead. This takes about 24 hours. You can also freeze the dough before it rises and let it rise when you’re ready to make pizza. If you refrigerate the dough, you will need to let it reach the room temperature before forming the crust. Get it out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for about an hour.
If you’re using a baking stone or pizza stone, place it in the oven so it gets preheated as well. If you’re using a baking sheet, place it in the oven at this time.
If you’re using a baking peel, transfer the pizza directly from the peel to the stone in the oven. Baking peels are used by professional pizza bakers along with baking stones. The unbaked pizza is assembled on the peel, then transferred to the stone in the oven.
Sliced mushrooms of any kind Sliced red and green bell peppers Sliced onions Sliced black olives Sliced pepperonis Sausage pieces Diced ham Mozzarella cheese
Spinach leaves Tomato Zucchini Chopped kale Artichoke hearts Arugula Broccoli Sliced beets Roasted garlic Roasted tomato Sweet potato Pesto onion Mushroom Green olives Goat cheese Garlic Hummus Fresh mozzarella slices Fresh basil Grilled eggplant
Pineapple chunks Caramelized onions Grilled ham slices or Canadian bacon slices Mozzarella cheese
Sliced fresh tomatoes Basil leaves
