--- title: 'Scratch Made Pizza' date: '2019-09-23T19:01:31+00:00' type: post word_count: 756 char_count: 4340 tokens: 983 categories: - Cooking - Pizza --- # Scratch Made Pizza I really like cooking pizza at home. If you get everything figured out it’s pretty hard to beat. My recipe is pulled from the [Ratio Cookbook](https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728). ![](https://gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190921_185038-copy-2-1024x829.jpg)Weight in GramsIngredient567All Purpose Flour – [King Arthur](https://shop.kingarthurflour.com/items/king-arthur-unbleached-all-purpose-flour-5-lb)11Salt3Instant Yeast – [Saf Instant Red](https://www.amazon.com/Saf-Instant-Yeast-Pound-Pouch/dp/B0001CXUHW)25Olive Oil – [California Olive Ranch](https://shop.californiaoliveranch.com/Everyday/p/COR-100056)330Water[![mixing bowl, cookbook and kitchen aid](https://i0.wp.com/gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190918_174357.jpg?fit=1024%2C768)](blob:https://gregr.org/da4768e8-ab94-4fa3-9479-7a831e701fb1) I start off by putting my Kitchen Aid Mixer bowl on a scale and zeroing the scale. I add the flour, salt, yeast, and olive oil. I put the mixing bowl back on the Kitchen Aid and mix at a low speed for a minute to combine the ingredients while I weigh the water. Depending on how humid it is the dough might need a bit more or less water. I typically add about 80% of the water and let the Kitchen Aid mix for a couple of minutes. If there are dry bits of flour at the bottom of the mixing bowl, I add a bit of the remaining water. I will repeat this process until all of the flour comes together into a single ball. [![ball of dough on scale. scale reads 920gr](https://i2.wp.com/gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190918_175833.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024)](https://gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190918_175833.jpg) I let the dough knead in the Kitchen Aid for about 10 minutes, then I pull the dough ball out and put it on the scale. I normally get a ball of dough about 920 grams. While the dough is out of the mixing bowl, put a glug of olive oil in the mixing bowl and smear the inside of the bowl with oil. I then put the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour. I then split the dough into three 306gr balls, each ball goes into an oiled container (tupperware, ziplock bag, bowl with plastic wrap, etc.) and put into the fridge for a 24 hour cold rise. The cold rise contributes a lot to the flavor of the dough, and also letting the dough rest for 24 hours makes forming the pizza really really easy. An hour or two before I plan to make pizza I preheat my oven to it’s hottest temp 550F (300C). It takes a long time for a pizza stone to heat up to it’s full temperature. I sprinkle a [pizza peel ](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JPJ0QY/) generously with [semolina](https://www.bobsredmill.com/semolina-pasta-flour.html), and very gently remove the pizza dough from it’s container, and let it stretch a little with gravity. Once it’s maybe 6″ (15cm) across it goes on the peel. I then stretch the pizza to about 10″ (25cm) by gently lifting the edges and pulling outwards. Once the pizza is the correct size, I will shake the peel a couple of times to make sure the pizza slides around easily. If it doesn’t slide easily I’ll add a bit more semolina to the peel. [![raw pizza on peel](https://i0.wp.com/gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190921_191824-copy.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024)](https://gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190921_191824-copy.jpg) My go to topping for pizza is homemade tomato sauce (which at some point I’ll write a post about), but any kind of tomato sauce that’s reasonably thick will work. Then I add chunks of the cheapest store brand mozzarella (it melts beautifully). Then I sprinkle a good amount of finely grated Pecorino Romano for favor. Finally some kind of cured meat gets added on top — I like prosciutto a lot, but any kind of salami is good. If you have fresh basil add some. ![pizza in oven on pizza stone](https://i0.wp.com/gregr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/IMG_20190921_191845-copy.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024) The pizza is then slid onto the pizza stone, and cooked for about 7 minutes. Peek through the door every couple minutes to see if the crust is browning. I like to pull the pizza out when some of the crust has a golden brown. If you plan to make more than one pizza try and let your oven reheat for 10 minutes.