Pizza from Scratch for Beginners

Quickly and easily make an entire pizza from scratch!

What do I need to make a whole pizza from scratch?

Timing is Everything

An entire pizza from scratch does not actually take that long, but you have to work on your timing. This is a great way to start learning about critical paths in the kitchen for a beginner homesteader. By the way, have you joined the Holiday Homestead Challenge yet?

The Critical Path Method

Basically, the critical path method is finding the longest distance between start and finish, and making it as efficient as possible (Thank you, Dr. Kandampully in all of those hospitality classes at Ohio State!).

This is a great way to make all of your meals. Figure out what takes the longest, and start with that first. For us, this is the dough.

The Dough

I first learned how to use pizza dough using this amazing recipe from Preppy Kitchen. After making it a few times, I have slightly changed it to make it my own. That’s the beauty of pizza, it really depends on how you like it! Just keep trying and adjust it each time until you have the perfect pizza for you!

Pizza Dough Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm filtered water
• 2 cups bread flour (or all purpose)
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)
• 1 tbsp sugar (divided in 2)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Pizza Dough Instructions

Prepare the yeast and dry ingredients

1. First you want to warm up your stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl if you don’t have a mixer) by running it under hot water. Add yeast, half the sugar, and the warm water (I warm mine in the microwave for 30 seconds). Stir vigorously then cover (I use a beeswax wrap- see my Homesteader Gift Guide) and let sit for 7 minutes. Make sure it looks bubbly when the time is up. I have had this fail before and honestly, I don’t know why! Sometimes you have to wait a little longer, and sometimes you have had to redo!

2. While you are waiting for the yeast (Think critical path, you are a homesteader now… every second counts. Don’t waste it!), mix the remaining sugar, flour, salt, and garlic powder in a separate bowl. Whisk together.

Get to mixing!

3. Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer and start with yeast mixture. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can do all of this with a wooden spoon and your hands. It will just take longer.

Mix on low and slowly add the dry ingredient mixture. Mix on medium until dough forms a ball (about a minute). Every once in a while I need to add in an extra drop of water for the ball to form. If it’s too wet, add more flour.

4. On a floured work surface, gently knead the dough until it is smooth and bounces back when you poke it. This does not really take very long. Just play with it a bit.

5. Coat the ball in olive oil and place in a bowl and cover. I use the same bowl my dry ingredients were in because, dishes. Place in a warm, draft free place. I usually put in the microwave (don’t turn it on, of course).

Let the dough rise and do its thing

6. Go make your sauce and prepare your toppings! Again with the critical path. Also, go do any dishes you have now, too.

Preheat oven and stone baking sheet to 450F when the dough is almost done. If you don’t have a stone baking sheet, you can just get your regular one out and set it aside.

7. Make sure the dough has doubled in size. Shape into a pizza. Get as fancy as you’d like! Throw it in the air if you feel up to it. I am pretty lame and just haphazardly shape it into some weird rectangular pizza thing.

Once it is flat, you can pinch the sides to make a crust. I add a little sea salt to mine. Back in the days when we used to order pizza every Friday, Hungry Howie’s had this sea salt crust that we LOVED. This is not for everyone, we are just pretty salty over here.

8. Brush the pizza dough with olive oil, add sauce (see below) and toppings (see below that).

9. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. My sweet spot seems to be 13 minutes. We like to under-bake a lot of our dough in this household. If you like it crispier, leave it in for longer.

Let sit about 2 minutes before you cut it, then enjoy!

The Sauce

While your dough is rising, you will want to start making your sauce. When I first made pizza, I had every intention of using sauce from a jar. When it was time to assemble my pizza, I realized that I forgot to buy it and had to make something using what I had on hand! This recipe is what I came up with and have been using ever since.

Pizza Sauce Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 14.5oz can diced or crushed organic tomatoes
• 2 tbsp organic tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• Pinch red pepper flakes

Pizza Sauce Instructions

1. Heat a pot on medium heat. I usually use my small ditch oven, because I love cast iron and enameled cast iron.

2. Put in olive oil and garlic. Cook garlic for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add in tomato and tomato paste. Gently mash tomatoes so they become smooth. If you like a thicker sauce, you can use a little more of the tomato paste.

4. Add in sugar, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir. This is really to your taste. If you’d rather, you could add in thyme or basil instead.

5. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until smooth, stirring occasionally. Think about the path- Go do the rest of your dishes while this is simmering.

6. Turn off or keep on low until you are ready to add it to your pizza! Taste it first, though. Pizza sauce is pretty taste specific. Add anything you think it needs.

The Toppings

Pizza toppings are so fun! You can add whatever you like to your pizza. This is also a great place to get your kids involved. They don’t need to be added in any specific way, so let them create their own pizza masterpieces.

If I were a better homesteader, I would probably make my own mozzarella to add. Maybe someday?

Our Favorite Pizza Toppings

1. Italian Blend Cheese (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and romano)
2. Abruzzese (It’s like pepperoni)
3. Cubano pepper

Why cubano pepper you ask? Well, my Commissary (military grocery store) does not have banana peppers. We tried jalapenos and it was too spicy. We tried green bell peppers and it was too boring. This seemed like the perfect in between.

The Final Pizza from Scratch

Let’s recap here. You start by making your dough. While that is rising, you make your sauce and cup up your toppings. If there is extra time, you do some dishes, and definitely drink some wine. Once the dough is formed, you simply toss it all together, put it in the oven, and enjoy your delicious pizza from scratch!

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The Dough Recipe

The Sauce Recipe