A Plain Pizza Pie Recipe (2024)

Don't need pizza stone. Cook on shallow or rimless, very thin aluminum pan, sprinkled well with corn meal, NOT FLOUR. Brush your dough with olive oil before adding any toppings; this seals the dough and keeps moisture from tomatoes from soaking into it. Chop your fresh basil and arrange over tomatoes, then add cheese. Baked on a thin pan, 450F is plenty, on center rack. How do I know these things? Cuz I been there, done it. This recipe is ok....but I like my way better. :)

Interesting. In "It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything", Steingarten shares a recipe for pizza sauce where you crush whole San Marzanos in a colander over a bowl, catching the liquid. Heat up some oil in a small sauce pan with some chopped onion. After a bit, add in the now-crushed tomatoes from the colander and some of the retained liquid. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season as desired. Spread on dough, top with whatever, bake, enloy.

San Marzano this, San Marzano that. Big money sucker. Red Pack/Red Gold are much, much less expensive, available at nearly every market, and tastes better than every San Marzono I've cooked with. Try it for yourself if you don't believe it.

A good trick with pizza or anything you slide off a peel into a hot oven is to use foil or parchment under it. Put a bit of fraisage (corn meal, dry bread crumbs, whatever) on the peel, then put foil or parchment paper on top. Put more fraisage on top of that and then your dough. Slide the whole thing off onto your baking surface. Works a treat.

I soaking herb de providence or Italian seasoning (1/2 tablespoon) and garlic powder(~1/4 teaspoon) in olive oil (1/2 cup - 1 cup) for 30 minute. I brush it on the dough before adding the pizza sauce. It give the dough a really great crunch and adds a little flavor. You can also dip the crush in the leftover olive oil.

Where's the garlic Sammy?Otherwise, good recipe.Can do with any Imported from Italy canned plum tomatoes, no need for San Marzano.I will never understand the hype for SM tomatoes, I don't think they're worth the extra cost.In fact, some canned tomatoes made in America are also acceptable - not all, but some.Bohemian recommended Jim Layey's no-knead pizza dough, checked it out, and it is exactly as I have done my entire life, taught to me by my Neapolitan mama.

I make pizza every Friday night: 1) Bake the floured dough -- without any toppings -- on a pizza pan in the middle of a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes. Remove the crust, preheat oven to 525 degrees. 2) Meanwhile, add all your desired toppings to crust: sauce, sausage/onions, ricotta, mozzarella, grated parmesan, oregano, etc. 3) Slide the completed pizza onto a pizza stone. Bake for 4 minutes. 4) Turn off the oven and complete baking/browning in hot oven for 4 more minutes.5) Done!

My best advice to not have pizza dough stick to a pizza peel is to add about a tablespoon of corn meal to the flour before putting the rolled out pizza dough on the peel. Have been doing this for years and it works every time. This is a simple, delicious pizza, with room to add more things, if desired.

Click on pizza dough under ingredients. "pizza dough" is hyperlinked to the dough recipe.

I agree that San Marzano are not all that special. I like plain imported canned plum tomatoes with nothing in them but some salt. Red Pack has a sweet-ish taste that I'm not all that fond of. Of course, the best tomatoes of all are the ones I can from my garden with no more than a basil leaf and a teaspoon of salt, 20 minutes in a hot water bath and I have enough to last me all through winter.

Skindog: You are absolutely, positively right! My Italian family has been using Red Pack tomatoes for 50 years+. Tuttorosso brand is the same company (RedGold) if you live in the South. Sometimes $1 a can at Publix. Perfect sauce every time. San Marzano tomatoes are watery, tasteless and way too expensive. But I always cook my sauce first before adding as a topping. Why would you want tomato sauce that has no taste on your pizza? Make a quick marinara sauce. So easy and tasty.

Funny, I did it with crushed garlic. Made it amazing! It's not authentically Italian, or so I'm told by Italians, but I like to mix both onion and garlic into the sauce. Keep in mind that this is meant to be a "plain" pizza pie. But still, it is almost plain.

While you can cook pizza this way, the top will be crispy but the bottom will likely be quite soft. If you're against a stone or a baking steel (you shouldn't be, they're excellent), use a pizza screen rather than a pan so you don't trap moisture under the dough.

I have been making this pizza and pizza dough for about 2 years. Couple of tips. One, get a premium pizza stone (steel). Next, let the dough sit in the frig as instructed for 48 hours not overnight as it will ensure perfect crispy bake. Lastly, do not over handle the dough as the Roberta's video states as it will release those glutens and make pie construction impossible.

I've been buying premade pizza dough at the health food store, cutting it in quarters for 4 single servings (I live alone), and then freezing them until I'm ready for pizza. I usually just top with homemade tomato sauce (onion, canned tomatoes, butter and herbs or spices, depending on my mood) and whatever cheese seems appealing and is in my fridge. Delicious and easy. I can't imagine leaving my oven at 500 for 45 minutes though. I just preheat to 400 or 425 and pop it in.

My change (and I have been making my own pizza for years) is that I now use my carbon steel frying pan. Heat the oven to 550 (I'm going to try to go a little lower so I don't smoke bomb my house). Then, heat the frying pan stove top until it's got a little smoke. Add olive oil to cover the pan and then I add corn meal. Place the stretched dough on the pan and remove from heat. Build your pizza and place in the oven for about 8 minutes. Crusty pie with plenty of heat to melt the top.

So simple and so good! I used a shredded mozzarella and parm mix (maybe 5-6 ounce) and a Trader Joe’s frozen organic pizza crust. Served with a simple arugula salad recipe from NYT cooking. Will go in our regular rotation!

I'm making all my pizza crusts with cauliflower rice these days. More nutritious and we don't get that heavy pizza drag after the meal.

I followed the directions exactly and it came out exactly right. Considering the disasters I’d previously produced, this is a miracle.

I make pizza every Friday night: 1) Bake the floured dough -- without any toppings -- on a pizza pan in the middle of a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes. Remove the crust, preheat oven to 525 degrees. 2) Meanwhile, add all your desired toppings to crust: sauce, sausage/onions, ricotta, mozzarella, grated parmesan, oregano, etc. 3) Slide the completed pizza onto a pizza stone. Bake for 4 minutes. 4) Turn off the oven and complete baking/browning in hot oven for 4 more minutes.5) Done!

Too much cheese —it overflowed, otherwise tasty. SM tomatoes weren’t very good, needed sugar. 8 minutes @ 550°

This sauce and recipe were great...the best pizza I have ever made...better than any pizza I have had in a restaurant! Loved it.

My best advice to not have pizza dough stick to a pizza peel is to add about a tablespoon of corn meal to the flour before putting the rolled out pizza dough on the peel. Have been doing this for years and it works every time. This is a simple, delicious pizza, with room to add more things, if desired.

Where's the garlic Sammy?Otherwise, good recipe.Can do with any Imported from Italy canned plum tomatoes, no need for San Marzano.I will never understand the hype for SM tomatoes, I don't think they're worth the extra cost.In fact, some canned tomatoes made in America are also acceptable - not all, but some.Bohemian recommended Jim Layey's no-knead pizza dough, checked it out, and it is exactly as I have done my entire life, taught to me by my Neapolitan mama.

I soaking herb de providence or Italian seasoning (1/2 tablespoon) and garlic powder(~1/4 teaspoon) in olive oil (1/2 cup - 1 cup) for 30 minute. I brush it on the dough before adding the pizza sauce. It give the dough a really great crunch and adds a little flavor. You can also dip the crush in the leftover olive oil.

A good trick with pizza or anything you slide off a peel into a hot oven is to use foil or parchment under it. Put a bit of fraisage (corn meal, dry bread crumbs, whatever) on the peel, then put foil or parchment paper on top. Put more fraisage on top of that and then your dough. Slide the whole thing off onto your baking surface. Works a treat.

I've been baking home pizza now for a few decades, but have never found the secret to consistently stringy, chewy cheese. Anyone have any tips?

I have been making this pizza and pizza dough for about 2 years. Couple of tips. One, get a premium pizza stone (steel). Next, let the dough sit in the frig as instructed for 48 hours not overnight as it will ensure perfect crispy bake. Lastly, do not over handle the dough as the Roberta's video states as it will release those glutens and make pie construction impossible.

San Marzano this, San Marzano that. Big money sucker. Red Pack/Red Gold are much, much less expensive, available at nearly every market, and tastes better than every San Marzono I've cooked with. Try it for yourself if you don't believe it.