Pizza is one of the first things I cooked on my own, if you can call stretching storebought pizza dough on a sheet pan, showering it with vegetables, and shoving it an oven cooking.
Recently inspired by Dinner, a Love Story, we've been making sheet pan pizza once a week, and I've remembered why I love it so much. It's so easy; you can throw whatever you have in your fridge on top; and it's delicious.
Below are our current favorite pizza dough and favorite pizza sauce recipes. The rest is up to you. Simply stretch the dough onto a sheet pan, top with sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you want. Bake at the highest temp your oven will go until the cheese is bubbly brown, and enjoy.
No-Knead Pizza Dough
(Recipe from Jim Lahey by way of Dinner a Love Story)
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp instant or active dry yeast
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp sugar
- 1 1/3 cup room-temp water
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended for at least 30 seconds. Add more flour as needed until dough is stiff rather than wet and sticky.
- Cover the bowl and let sit at room temp until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about two hours.
- Divide the dough in two. If using immediately, stretch each half-dough-section to fit a parchment-covered sheet pan (if the dough tears, fill free to patch it with more dough). You can also cover a sheet pan in oil instead of using parchment paper, but we prefer the ease (and less calories) of parchment. If freezing, roll into a ball and freeze in a plastic bag.
New-York Style Pizza Sauce
(Recipe from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats)
- 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 2 sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
- 1 medium yellow onion (or 1/2 a large onion), peeled and cut in half
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- Process tomatoes and their juice in a blender or food processor until mostly pureed but not completely smooth. Set aside.
- Combine butter and oil in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper, and a large pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Discard onions (Andrew enjoys eating these with some salt sprinkled on top) and basil stems. Season sauce to taste with salt. Use immediately on top of pizza or keep in fridge for up to two weeks.
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