The Joy of Great Pizza Recipes – Pizza 101
Why would you make a homemade pizza when you can buy frozen or fresh readymade ones or order a pizza over the phone, you might be wondering. Indeed, if you have never made a pizza from scratch yourself you might well be curious as to what all the fuss is about. A takeout pizza is just as good as a homemade pizza, right?
Actually no, there is no substitute for homemade pizza recipes. Takeout pizza might fill your stomach but it is thrown together without much care. You can choose what kind of crust, sauce, and toppings you want and these options might seem broad. Compare your choices though when it comes to making your own pizza at home. You can choose from three, maybe four different crusts, and a couple of sauces (if that) and a limited range of toppings if you are opting for a readymade pizza.
Hundreds of Exciting Topping Options
If you were to make your own homemade pizza recipe you could choose from literally dozens of crust and sauce recipes and the list of possible toppings is huge. The combinations of toppings you can make is virtually endless.
You are not limited to traditional toppings either. What about trying some more unusual toppings like seafood, fruit, different kinds of cheese and even international ingredients like tandoori chicken or Chinese style beef? Do not be afraid to use bold-flavored toppings in your pizza recipes; experimenting with different combinations is half the fun!
So which appeals to you more? Making your own pizza dough from scratch, pummeling and kneading it and then stretching it out, enjoying its warm elasticity and floury smell, creating a batch of pizza sauce from fresh ingredients and using your own blend of herbs, spices and other flavors to make it unique, or choose from hundreds of different toppings to make your pizza mouthwateringly fantastic?
If you want to choose every element of your pizza, and that includes the crust, the sauce, and the toppings, making your own is the way to go, as thousands of American home cooks are discovering.
Quick and Easy Pizzas
Do not worry about pizza-making being a time-consuming process because it does not have to be. You can cheat and use a store-bought crust and then make your own sauce and toppings or you can make a batch of pizza dough (enough for several future pizzas too).
You can use toppings which don’t require much preparation (ready-sliced black olives or ready-grated cheese, for example) instead of those which do, like meat which needs to be sautéed or vegetables which must be stir fried or boiled before you add them.
Gourmet Pizza Possibilities
However, what about if you really are not in a hurry and you want to create a pizza masterpiece? You might not be in a rush and trying to find the quickest, easiest dough recipe or the simplest topping ideas. Perhaps you want to make a sophisticated pizza for a dinner party or maybe you just want to prove to your cynical family that homemade pizza is more delicious than takeout pizza (it is usually healthier too, but they do not need to know that!)
If you usually stick to the same cheese and pepperoni pizza when you order a takeout, why not experiment with different homemade pizza recipes? You can even make a four seasons pizza, using different toppings on every quarter, or what about a fruit pizza recipe, combining a crispy crust with your favorite fruit toppings? Nobody said that pizza has to be savory!
Homemade pizza recipes are cheaper and healthier than store-bought or takeout versions. They also taste much nicer. So what are you waiting for? Delve into the world of great pizza recipes today and get ready to make the most wonderful pizzas and impress your family like never before!
Homemade Napoletana Pizza – Celebrity Chef Gino d’Acampo Shows You How
If you find it hard to visualize the pleasure of making your own homemade pizzas, have a look at this video for some inspiration. You can follow this recipe and make a napoletana pizza like an Italian chef or you can make one of our pizza recipes. This video shows you a good dough kneading technique and also demonstrates how to transform the dough into a fantastic crust.
Onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella and more are used for the toppings. This is an authentic Italian pizza recipe and it is a wonderful combination of flavor, color, and different textures all rolled into one, and finished off with extra virgin olive oil and aromatic fresh basil. As the famous chef Gino d’Acampo himself would say, “fantastico!”