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Pizza Perfection: Everything You Need Know
Everybody loves pizza. And everybody has an opinion on what’s best, what’s authentic, and what is the one and only pizza dough recipe you will ever need. The truth? There are many styles of pizza out there, and they’re ALL good. Pizza is essentially flat bread with stuff on top. From there, the sky’s the limit. Sometimes it has a thin crust. Sometimes it’s thick. Sometimes it has tomato sauce. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes other sauces like pesto are spread on the dough instead of tomato sauce. Pizza usually includes cheese, but one of the earliest pizzas–marinara–has no cheese. Sometimes pizza is round. Sometimes it’s square or rectangular, like Roman style pizza al taglio (by the cut). Sometimes pizza is baked right on a hot baking stone. Other times it’s baked in a pan or on a grill grate. There are no hard and fast rules.
We celebrate ALL of kinds of pizza, whether it’s baked in a wood-fired pizza oven, a home oven, in a cast-iron pan under a broiler, or on a grill. The one constant among all pizzas is that it’s best when made by hand rather than by machine. The difference between frozen pizza and homemade pizza is what YOU put into it. Yes, shaping dough takes a little practice. And it helps to have some tools like a bench knife and pizza peel. But making pizza is not hard. Will your first pie be perfect? Probably not, but it will probably still taste good! From there, every pizza you make will get better and better. Check out the pages below to learn everything you need to know to reach pizza perfection, from the equipment and tools to the recipes and techniques.
The Pizza Project: A Taxonomy of the World’s Great Pizza Styles, Great Fun No Matter How You Slice It
Recipes for the world's most important types of pizza, Neapolitan, Roman, New York, Chicago, White Clam, Focaccia, Calzone, Provencal, and more.
The Best Tools And Equipment For Perfect Pizza On The Grill
Create perfect pizza on the grill thanks to these top rated tools. If you're a fan of brick oven pizza then this is the gear that will help you create it directly on your grill, from pizza stones to pizza peels and more. The result is a crust that is crisp, smoky and lightly charred and piping hot toppings.
Guide To Pizza Ovens
For the best Italian style pizzas or rustic breads, nothing beats a wood-burning oven/forno. Built for use indoor or out, built-in or portable for caterers.
Conditioning And Seasoning A Pizza Stone
You should condition and season a new pizza stone or baking stone before using it. Here are simple instructions on how to do it so your pizza cooks perfectly the first time you use the stone.
Is A Baking Steel Better Than A Pizza Stone?
The Baking Steel is an expensive slab of specially formulated steel that heats rapidly and holds heat very well. In other words, it is a steel pizza stone. In our tests, it performed similar to a cordierite pizza stone, cooking the bottom crust of pizza a bit faster than ceramic materials.
Grilled Pizza Margherita Recipe
Perfectly crisp and full of deep smoky flavor, grilled Margherita pizza comes closer to brick oven pizza like you get in Italy or France than anything you can do indoors. Unlike many pizzas that go overboard with toppings, this recipe for grilled pizza Margherita is a simple, yet elegant, blend of dough, cheese, tomatoes, and basil.
This Perfect Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough Recipe Needs No Kneading
Create delicious Neapolitan style pizza on the grill thanks to this no knead pizza dough recipe. True authentic Neapolitan pizzas have a tender, pillowy bottom with big blistery bubbles in it after cooking very quickly over extremely high heat. When cut, it is pliable and bends easily under the weight of toppings.
Try Marc Vetri’s Naples Style Pizza Dough for Your Next Pizza
Renowned Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri shares his recipe for Naples style pizza dough from his book, Mastering Pizza. It's the perfect dough for making grilled Neapolitan pizza in a kamado.
You’ll Love This No Knead Roman-Style Pizza Crust Recipe
Great grilled pizza begins with a great pizza dough such as this simple-to-follow recipe for no knead Roman-style pizza dough. It can be used for thin crust or thick crust, and even for focaccia. When followed precisely, the recipe's end result is a crispy, smoky grilled pizza similar to that from a brick oven.
How to Make the World’s Easiest Pizza Sauce
The best pizza sauce is also the easiest. Tomatoes, olive oil, basil and salt. What more do you need? You can blend up this sauce recipe right in a tall 1-quart container. Then use it make the pizza of your dreams. Or refrigerate it for a few days.this item is for members only
How to Make Kamado Grilled Sausage Pizza
A grill makes a crisp pizza, and kamado style grills offer distinct advantages. Here's how to make sausage pizza on a Big Green Egg or other kamado, including techniques and recipes for grilled pizza from renowned Italian chef, Marc Vetri.
Grilled Capicola Pizza, Delivery Pizza’s Worst Nightmare
Grilled pizza comes close to the brick oven style pizza we all love but without the cost of installing a brick oven. Here is a rustic grilled pizza recipe that features Capicola, a traditional cured and lightly smoked pork product from Naples, related to bacon, and some good examples are made in the US and Canada.
Pepe’s Style White Clam Pizza Recipe
Pepe's on Wooster St. in New Haven CT is one of the most famous pizza places in the world, and their most famous pie is the White Clam Pizza. Duplicating Pepe's pies is impossible, but you can come close at home with the right ingredients, and a little love. Here's the recipe for creating a delicious white clam pizza in your kitchen.
Grilled Caramelized Onion Pizza, An Outdoor Twist On French Pissaladiere
A French twist on traditional Italian pizza, the pissaladiere packs a ton of flavor in the form of caramelized onions, olives, garlic, anchovies, and herbs. Taking it one step further, this recipe for the classic pissaladiere (sans sauce and fromage) is cooked on the grill, rendering it perfectly crisp and smoky.
The Best Pizza Stone For The Grill From Pizzacraft
Looking to create perfect pizza and baked goods on the grill? There are many pizza stones, and the best modern ones are made from a special heat absorbing refractory type material called cordierite. Among our favorites is the Pizzacraft 15-inch square Thermabond Baking and Pizza Stone, creating even heat for baking.
KettlePizza Pizza Oven Insert For Charcoal Grills
KettlePizza is a well made stainless steel ring that sits between the lid and base of your Weber Kettle, transforming your charcoal grill into a high heat pizza oven for a fraction of the price of a real brick oven. With the insert in place, simply slide the pizza onto a pizza stone and cook via radiant heat.
Ooni 3 with Gas Burner Review
You'll love making pizza outdoors in the Ooni portable pizza oven. The standard model is wood fired with pellets, but we prefer the optional gas fired system and award it our Gold Medal. With the gas burner, pizza doughs and toppings cook perfectly with slightly charred bubbles and leopard spotting on the crust.
Ooni 3 Pellet Burner Review
Ooni 3 comes standard with a wood pellet burner, which we found lacking and is Not Recommended. Click now to find out why we strongly prefer the Ooni 3 with their optional gas burner. With the gas burner, pizza doughs and toppings cook perfectly with slightly charred bubbles and leopard spotting on the crust.
Ooni Koda Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven
The Ooni Koda is a superb portable pizza oven capable of making restaurant quality pies in 2 to 3 minutes. Completely redesigned from the ground up, Koda outperforms its predecessor, Ooni 3, in every way. It requires no assembly and is ready to cook right out of the box. We reviewed Koda and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal!
BakerStone Pizza Oven Box
Create perfect brick oven style pizza on the grill in less than 5 minutes with our highly rated Bakerstone grill insert. Read our review. Bakerstone is a steel box that sits on a gas grill with the lid up. It is lined with cordierite and it has a simple airflow system that actually helps cook the top properly similar to a pizza oven.
Blackstone Ultimate Pizza Oven Bundle Review
Although Blackstone presents the Patio Oven as a versatile device that cooks a variety of foods, it is best suited for pizza. Blackstone claims it cooks a pizza in under 3 minutes. We reviewed Blackstone's Pizza Oven and award our Bronze Medal. This is a unique offering for those who would put a dedicated pizza oven to good use.
Alfa Pizza 5 Minuti Review
Check out our review of Alfa Pizza's 5 Minuti, which is so named for the ability to heat up quickly, although Alfa recommends you give it 15 minutes before cooking. Metal pizza ovens are known to heat up quickly in contrast to the traditional refractory ovens made with clay or modern refractory material.
Pizza Party Pizzone Review
Pizza Party is a very good wood burning pizza oven that is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble. We tested and reviewed this versatile oven and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. It has a dome that is high quality stainless steel inside and a painted aluminum exterior with a ceramic fabric insulation.
Forno Bravo Primavera 60 Outdoor Oven Review
Check out our review of this pizza oven package which includes the refractory wood oven and chimney, metal stand, clay chimney cap, CD ROM for instruction, and a steel door with built-in thermometer. Built-in dial thermometers are inaccurate. Forno Bravo recommends getting an Infrared Gun Thermometer for an accurate reading of the floor and dome temps.
Fontana Forni Toscano Margherita Outdoor Oven Review
Fontana considers The Forno Toscano Margherita Wood Fired Pizza Oven to be their signature product. Instead of bricks or cast refractory material, Fontana uses heavily insulated steel construction which heats up faster than refractory ovens, but cools off faster as well. It has a food grade stone floor. Read our review to learn more.
EcoQue Wood Burning Pizza Oven and Smoker Review
EcoQue's Wood Fired Pizza Oven and Smoker design is based on Fontana Forni's dual chamber pizza ovens that are made in Italy. The fire is built in the lower chamber and your food is baked and cooked in the upper chamber. EcoQue adds a second cook chamber which can be used for smoking and roasting.
The Best Wooden Pizza Peels For Grilling Pizza
The pizza peel or paddle is the best way to get your pie in and out of the grill and we've got our recommendations for the best in class. To use, simply dust the top with flour or corn meal, which acts like ball bearings. Then you spread the dough on the peel, top it, and slide it onto the pan or stone on the grill.
The Best Pizza Wheel For Cutting Pizza
A good pizza wheel will keep your pizza crispy, and it comes in handy for home made pizza and even for cutting pie dough. Her is our tested and rated review of our favorite pizza wheel, the OXO Good Grips 4-inch Pizza Wheel. Well priced and made to last, we found this to be the perfect choice for home pizza cooks.Related articles
Published On: 5/9/2019 Last Modified: 4/23/2021
Blackstone Rangetop Combo: Griddle And Deep Fryer In One
The flat top does the burgers and the fryer does the fries. Use the griddle for bacon, eggs, grilled cheese, and so much more. And why deep fry indoors when you can avoid the smell and mess by doing it outside!
Click here to read our detailed review and to order
The Cool Kettle With The Hinged Hood We Always Wanted
Napoleon’s 22″ Pro Cart Charcoal Kettle Grill puts a few spins on the familiar kettle design. In fact, the hinged lid with a handle on the front, spins in a rotary motion 180 degrees. It’s hard to beat a Weber kettle, but Napoleon holds its own and adds some unique features to make the 22″ Pro Cart a viable alternative.
Click here for more about what makes this grill special
Fireboard: The Ultimate Top Of The Line BBQ Thermometer
Fireboard Labs Product Photo Shoot. Kansas City Commercial Portrait and Wedding Photographers ©Kevin Ashley Photography
With the ability to monitor up to six temperatures simultaneously with either Bluetooth or Wifi on your mobile phone, tablet, or computer, Fireboard is the best digital thermometer we’ve tested.
Click here to read our detailed review
The Undisputed Champion!
ThermoWorks’ Thermapen ONE provides an accurate reading in one second or less. The ONE also includes features that are common on high-end instruments: automatic backlight, rotating display, and water resistant seals. Don’t accept cheap substitutes.
Click here to read our comprehensive Platinum Medal review
Grilla Pellet Smoker proves good things come in small packages
We always liked Grilla. The small 31.5″ x 29.5″ footprint makes it ideal for use where BBQ space is limited, as on a condo patio.
Click here for our review on this unique smoker
The Pit Barrel Cooker May Be Too Easy
The PBC has a rabid cult following for good reason. It is absolutely positively without a doubt the best bargain on a smoker in the world. Period. This baby will cook circles around the cheap offset sideways barrel smokers because temperature control is so much easier.
Click here to read our detailed review and the raves from people who own them
Masterbuilt MPS 340/G ThermoTemp XL Propane Smoker
This is the first propane smoker with a thermostat, making this baby foolproof. Set ThermoTemp’s dial from 175° to 350°F and the thermostat inside will adjust the burner just like an indoor kitchen oven. All you need to do is add wood to the tray above the burner to start smokin’.
Click here to read our detailed review
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