How to Make Great Pizzas

I love to eat Pizza. You might say that it’s my favourite food. What makes pizza even better, is when you make your own. With a bit of creativity you can make an almost endless supply of different tasty pizzas.

Pizzas – Dough, Bases

The base is the starting point of your pizza. Thick, Thin and Crispy, Stuffed crust, Whole Wheat, Sicilian, NY Style, are just a few of the options you have. The type of dough you select can have a huge effect of the taste of your pizza. I find thin bases better for minimal pizzas with fewer ingredients, which make a light meal. A margarita for example needs to have a thin base. Where as thicker bases are better for more hearty toppings such as chicken or meatballs.

A creative chef can also make good use of the left over dough, once you have all you need for your main pizza. Garlic Knots, Garlic rolls, or Garlic dough balls are all fantastic if you love garlic. Rolling the dough really flat, and putting some pesto, basil, and parmesan cheese on top and grilling makes a fantastic starter, with some yogurt dip or sweet chilli.

Pizza Sauces

Uncooked Pizza Sauce, South Western Oil Sauce, California Oil Sauce, Garlic Oil Sauce and Cooked Pizza Sauce are good place to start for your traditional Pizzas. However, many basic supermarket sauces make great pizza sauces. Cranberry sauce goes fantastically well with chicken. Sweet Thai chilli goes well with prawns, and pepper sauce goes well with beef. Get creative though, some of my most successful pizzas were built on experiments. Who would have thought curry powder, chicken and banana would go together on a thin crispy base, but it is my favourite Pizza Recipe.

Toppings

It is with the toppings that I get really creative. Mexican seasoned beef, chilli beans, corn chips and sour cream, with a tomato sauce and crispy base make a fantastic Texan pizza. I often think about other meals I enjoy and try and emulate that taste on a Pizza. Cheese burgers, Pepper Steak, Chicken Curry, Smoked Salmon, Prawns are all delicious on Pizza. Here are some fantastic Pizza Recipes.

Can’t be bothered

Most people love pizza. However, making their own is not for everyone. Pizza is a meal that people often order when they are too lazy to cook, so it is a real change to get your self thinking of pizza as a meal you make from scratch. However, if you can come around to my way of thinking, cooking your own Pizza can be a very creative and rewarding task.

Sample Recipe

First select a Pizza Dough, I suggest a medium to thin base for this pizza.

1/2 Cup Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
1 oz pickled onions
3 1/2 oz smoked Salmon Slices
1 teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon fresh chervil leaves

1. Place a pizza brick, unglazed terracotta tile or baking sheet in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 450F
3. On a floured surface, press out the pizza dough using your fingertips into 9 inch circle (always pressing from the inside of the dough to the outside)
4. Place the pizza dough on the pizza brick, unglazed terracotta tile or baking sheet.
5. Spread the tomato sauce over the surface.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pizza is golden on the edges and crisp underneath.
7. Allow to cool.
8. Thinly slice the onions.
9. Arrange them on top of the pizza base with the smoked salmon, capers and chervil. Serve at room temperature.

I hope this article has got your taste buds and creative juices flowing. Now go out and make some tasty pizza.