Top tips for mastering authentic pizza at home

Published 4:30 pm Wednesday, February 9, 2022

It could be argued that bad pizza is better than no pizza at all, but you can make a great pie from scratch at home with a few simple ingredients. Whether you make your dough and sauce from scratch, or you pick up a ball of dough and a jar of sauce from the grocery store, you can still have a delicious pie for dinner, made in under an hour.

Expert pizzaiolo Rocco DeFazio, of DeFazio’s import store and pizzeria in Troy, N.Y., has been making award-winning pizza for decades. His parents started the import store in 1951, and in 1989, Rocco added the pizzeria, which quickly became known for its chewy crust and perfectly seasoned sauce. DeFazio still makes the sauce daily on a small four-burner stove in a kitchen behind the import store, though his sons have taken over most day-to-day responsibilities. Celebrities and politicians rank DeFazio’s among their favorite pizzerias and Hillary Clinton was a regular during her U.S. Senate tenure and presidential campaigns.

Even with all the accolades, DeFazio is magnanimous and encourages people to try making pizza at home. DeFazio said he’ll never give the secret to his sauce, but dough is little more than flour, water, yeast, salt and a little olive oil.

Below, DeFazio’s tips for making pizza at home.

Tips for making dough

Feel free to use a machine, DeFazio says, adding that a bread machine or stand mixer is a great way to make dough from scratch, but if you want to make dough by hand, use a heavy wooden spoon or another utensil with heft, which will help your shaggy dough transform into a smooth, supple ball.

Kneading is important: Pizza dough can turn into a chewy crust when the gluten is properly developed, which happens in part from kneading. Whether using a machine or kneading by hand, DeFazio said the dough is ready when it yields to gentle pressure, then bounces back. Another trick to make sure the gluten is well worked is to tear a small piece of dough off the ball and stretch it until light can be seen through the dough; if the dough does not tear, it’s ready to rest.

To knead by hand, repeat a pattern of holding one end of the dough with one hand, then using the palm of your other hand to press the dough away from you. Fold the dough back on itself, give it a quarter turn and repeat. Use force and pressure.

Pizza perfection: Easy, homemade dough and sauce recipes

Flour is important, too, DeFazio notes; with so few ingredients in dough, it is crucial that all ingredients are the best quality you can find. A high-gluten flour (12% gluten content or higher) is a good option for pizza dough. 

“It’s very basic. It’s just yeast that you mix with warm water and a pinch of sugar, olive oil, salt and flour,” DeFazio says.

Add flour a bit at a time when you are kneading your dough. DeFazio warns not to add too much flour to your countertop which can result in a dry, tough dough.

Let the dough sleep in the fridge: Pizza dough reacts best (both texturally and from a flavor perspective) when it ferments slowly, adding a slight sourdough flavor and allowing the flour to fully hydrate and help develop the gluten. This will give you pizza crust with better taste, a craveable chew and enough structural integrity to hold up to the heaviest toppings. Allow it to rise slowly in the refrigerator for several hours, up to overnight.

“You cannot rush dough!” DeFazio notes. If in a rush, let the dough rise in a warm spot, but know the texture will not be quite the same. Let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before you form the pizza.

Can’t make your own dough? Buy some from a local pizza shop; most pizzerias will sell you a ball of dough, usually charged by the pound, DeFazio says. Buy a few portions of dough that can be wrapped and placed in a sealed bag and frozen for future pizza nights.

Tips for making sauce

Forget the sugar: DeFazio says pizza sauce should never have sugar, but you can add a little carrot to your sauce to balance acidity. Sautè finely chopped carrots with onions first or consider using a carrot puree.

Making a Neapolitan-style pie? DeFazio suggests opting for a raw sauce. Deep dish? A hearty cooked sauce is the right choice. Much like certain pastas require certain sauces, so do pizzas.

Whole tomatoes make the best sauce: DeFazio said using whole canned tomatoes and crushing them with your hands gives the best texture for sauce.

Tips for forming and baking pies

DeFazio encourages slowness while making and forming pies. “The number one mistake people make at home is they work the dough too fast,” he says.

After letting the dough rest and warm, slowly press the dough into a flat round, then use a rolling pin to get the size you need. Try your hand at hand-stretching, but start by sliding your hands under the center of the dough (so some of the dough is still touching the counter) and stretch towards the outer edge, leaving some bulk at the edge for the crust.

Don’t forget the cheese

Pecorino Romano cheese is DeFazio’s favorite on pizza (he calls it “white gold”), and he says the secret to a great-tasting pizza is to sprinkle some on before adding mozzarella. Once the pizza comes out of the oven, add a little more “white gold” before serving.

Details matter: DeFazio said pizza night should be an event at home. Put on some tunes (he suggests the music of Dean Martin or Louis Prima), wear a red scarf like a professional pizzaiolo in Italy, and most importantly, he notes, “Smile. You’re about to eat pizza.”