Pizza like in Italy, but at home

We love pizza in our family (Emma too), but we only learned relatively recently how to make it almost like pizza from a wood-fired oven, after numerous experiments with the dough and the cooking method.

The main problem with making Neapolitan pizza is that a home oven isn't capable of producing the same power as a professional electric or wood-fired oven. But if you think making pizza like somewhere in the south of Italy is impossible — you're wrong. It's possible, if you know how.

I'd divide making pizza into three parts: the dough, the toppings, and the cooking method itself. The first and third are the hard parts. The toppings are where you can — and should — improvise.

The dough

For the dough, use finely milled flour, no coarser than T55. Believe me, there's no point buying special "pizza flour" — anything from the nearest supermarket will do. You'll also need dry yeast (easiest to work with), water, and salt. You can easily swap the yeast for sourdough instead — doesn't matter.

I make it like this: take a large bowl and pour in water — as much as I plan to make dough with. Honestly, I never measure ingredients, and I never use a scale, even for desserts, let alone pizza. I'd recommend you work by eye and by feel too — otherwise it's hard to actually make progress in cooking. But that's a story for another time.

Back to the dough.

If it sticks to your hands, don't be afraid to throw it onto the table, gather it back up with both hands, and throw it down again. You don't need extra flour to get it to stop sticking and turn smooth — just those movements, for 3–4 minutes. Then move it back into the bowl (cover it with a lid or a few layers of kitchen towels so it doesn't dry out).

You want soft dough — not firm, but not too loose either. (That looser kind is for focaccia — different post.)

Once it's in the bowl, the easy part starts. Every hour, come back with wet hands, lift the dough up a few times, and let it fold back down over itself. This makes it smoother and gets the yeast working harder than it probably ever has. I do this three times, usually, leaving the dough somewhere in the kitchen that's not too cold and not too warm between each round. Just watch that it doesn't puff up too much at this stage — we want most of that rise saved for shaping the pizza and for the oven, not for the bowl.

The oven

Once the dough's nearly ready, it's time to light the oven. Chances are you don't have a dedicated pizza oven — I don't either, and my pizza still turns out pretty good. Here's the trick.

Set the oven to maximum, bottom heat only, and put the rack on the top shelf, right under the top element.

We'll cook in two stages: first on the bottom of the oven directly (no tray, no pizza stone needed), then on the rack up top. For the first stage, keep only the bottom heat on — that's what gives you the crust. Light the oven well ahead of time on full power (mine goes to 275°C, though 250°C is more common and works just as well).

The longer you let it preheat, the better. Fifteen minutes is fine, but half an hour is better if you can wait.

The sauce

While the oven heats, make the sauce. For a margherita, I use jarred tomatoes — the important thing is that they're not too acidic. I usually go for Spanish tinned tomatoes, but if you want to splurge on Italian Mutti, no one's stopping you.

Add whatever spices you like to the purée. I use herbes de Provence, sometimes with dried garlic, almost always with olive oil, and a pinch of salt if it needs it.

Shaping the pizza

Once the oven's ready (or close enough), it's time for the dough again — shaping our airy lump (it's risen nicely for you too, right?) into a pizza base.

Sprinkle it generously with flour, lift it carefully out of the bowl — keeping the air inside — and set it on the table. Here's a small detail that makes a big difference: if you want the crispiest crust and edges, sprinkle semolina on the table first and shape the pizza on that instead of flour.

Without pressing down on the edges, turn the dough periodically and stretch it out into a base about 30 cm across.

Once it's shaped, move it onto a pizza peel (or a piece of cardboard the right size, if you don't have one yet — though I'm not sure why you're reading a pizza recipe without a peel already. Kidding.) Make sure there's no excess flour stuck underneath — that flour will keep the crust from forming properly. I ignored this early on and paid for it with a lot of pale, floury bottoms. Flour is the enemy here.

At the same time, you can't let the pizza stick to the peel. This is the trickiest part to get a feel for, and you need to move fast.

Topping and baking

As soon as the dough's on the peel and pizza-shaped, spread the sauce over it in a thin layer — quick, broad strokes, like a painter somewhere near Naples — letting the tomato reach almost to the edge (it looks better that way).

Then tear one fresh mozzarella apart by hand — the driest one you can find, or squeeze the liquid out first. Wet mozzarella is great for a Caprese salad, but on pizza it's a disaster: too much water, and your Margherita turns into a swimming pool. I also avoid the pre-sliced, dry kind — just don't love how it looks.

Once the cheese is on, before sliding it into the oven, do one more thing: lift the pizza gently by all four corners (if a circle can have corners) with dry hands, stretch it slightly, and let go. This nudges the size up a little and confirms nothing's stuck to the peel.

Now move fast. Open the oven, slide the peel in, and with one light motion leave the pizza on the oven floor while pulling the peel back out. Close the door quickly so you don't lose the heat. Wait exactly 4 minutes.

After 4 minutes, switch on the top heat — with the fan, if your oven has one. Open the door, lift the pizza back onto the peel, and move it up to the top rack (the rack, not a tray). Wait again — 3 minutes this time.

And that's it. Pull it out, scatter on fresh basil, and drizzle generously with olive oil — over the middle and around the edges.

Just don't forget to turn the oven off, pour yourself something nice, put on some quiet music if you haven't already, and enjoy. That's what this was all for.