You don’t need a culinary degree to make pizza like a legend.
If you’ve ever dreamed of making pizza that rivals your favorite pizzeria, you’re in the right place. This is your step-by-step guide to making pizza that makes you a legend at home from dough to bake, crust to cheese pull.
You just need the right tools, a solid recipe, a little time, and the will to steel the show (pun intended) right from your home oven.
I’m Andris, and I’m not just about steel. I’m about giving you the power to create legendary pizza moments.
I’m obsessed with helping home cooks like you make pizza like a rock star. With the right tools, the right ingredients, and a little know-how, you’ll get there.
We’ve helped thousands of pizza lovers transform their kitchens into magic-making spaces. And when the pizza’s this good, people always come back for more.
🍕 Step One: It Starts with the Steel
A Baking Steel turns your home oven into a high-powered pizza machine. It transfers heat 20x faster than a stone, creating that blistered, crispy, airy crust everyone dreams about. Chefs use it. Home cooks become legends with it.
Want to be the one your friends talk about after pizza night? Start here: 👉 Shop the Baking Steel
Founder Andris, during a recent plant visit in Hanover, MA.
The Flour: I Love Organic
There are a million flour options out there and believe me, I’ve tested a lot of them.
I love a good adventure, but if you want to keep things simple (and get amazing results), I’ve already done the homework.
For our dough recipe, we want fermentation.
A slow, cold ferment over 2–3 days develops flavor and structure. But for that to happen, we need strong flour, high in protein.
My go-to? Organic bread flour from Central Milling.
It’s the perfect match for a Baking Steel and home oven setup. You’ll get strength, chew, and that beautiful rise.
Choosing the Right Flour for Pizza Dough
Flour is the foundation of every great pizza dough and the brand you choose can make a noticeable difference in flavor, structure, and texture. My personal go-to is from Central Milling, especially their organic bread flour. It’s consistent, strong, and delivers incredible results every time.
That said, there are plenty of amazing options out there worth exploring:
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Cairnspring Mills — Beautiful stone-milled flours with incredible character and depth of flavor.
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Flour2Flour — Small-batch, artisan flours crafted for serious bakers.
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King Arthur Baking — Always reliable, widely available, and great for beginners and pros alike.
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Bob’s Red Mill — Fantastic for specialty blends, alternative grains, and creative experiments.
Balling up dough is an integral part of the dough making process.
At the end of the day, there’s no single “best” flour it’s about finding the one that works for your style, your dough, your fermentation schedule and your oven. I always encourage testing a few brands, taking notes, and letting your taste buds decide. And don't be afraid to mix and match flours, that can be an amazing idea.
Our 72-Hour Pizza Dough was built around this exact combo: strong flour + Baking Steel + home oven. Our dough recipe, with in a home oven on our Baking Steel is going to produce some of the best pizza you have ever enjoyed....
Want Pizza Fast? Try Our 24-Hour Dough.
If you’re short on time and we’re talking pizza tonight, you can skip the long fermentation and go with a softer flour. All-purpose (AP) flour is lower in protein than bread flour, which makes it great for quick-turnaround dough. It’s a bit more tender, and for an overnight rise, it’s a solid match.
Why We Choose Organic Flours
We choose organic flour not because it’s trendy but because it’s better for the dough, the planet, and, let’s be honest, it just tastes cleaner.
Here’s why:
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Fewer Chemicals
Organic flours are made from wheat grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. That means no glyphosate residue in your crust. -
Better Soil, Better Grain
Organic farming prioritizes healthy soil, which leads to stronger, more nutrient-rich wheat—and better gluten development in your dough. -
Cleaner Fermentation
Long ferments (like our 72-hour dough) magnify flavors. Organic flour tends to produce a cleaner, more nuanced result because it starts from a cleaner base. -
Flavor and Performance
We find that organic bread flours from mills like Central Milling perform more predictably and bake up with better structure and aroma. -
Support for Sustainable Farming
Every bag supports farms that prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and responsible agriculture. That feels good and tastes even better.
👉 Check out our 24-Hour Pizza Dough Recipe it’s our go-to when the craving hits and you don’t want to wait three days.
You follow that playbook, and you’re already ahead of the game
Sizzline cheese pizza on a Baking Steel.
🍅 The Sauce: Keep it Simple, Keep it Bold
Forget overcomplicated sauces. The best pizza sauce starts with one thing: great tomatoes.
You don’t need a long ingredient list. You don’t need to simmer anything for hours. In fact don’t cook your sauce at all. Just crack open a great can of tomatoes, add a pinch of sea salt and maybe a splash of good olive oil, and you're done.
My go-to picks:
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Bianco DiNapoli Crushed Tomatoes
Sweet, vibrant, and perfectly balanced. Grown in California and packed with flavor, these are a staple in my kitchen. You can spoon them straight from the can. -
San Marzano-style
If you find the real deal, go for it. Otherwise, look for organic California-grown alternatives that bring the same sweet, low-acid profile. - Jersey Fresh tomatoes are picked at peak ripeness in New Jersey, giving them unmatched sweetness, vibrant flavor, and rich color. They’re perfect for pizza, sauces, or salads when you want that true summer tomato taste.
- Italian San Marzano
🍅 Whole Peeled vs. Crushed: What’s the difference?
There are literally hundreds of canned tomato options out there. So here’s how I break it down:
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Whole Peeled Tomatoes are packed whole (usually with basil), peeled, and suspended in juice. They're prized for their versatility you can crush them by hand or blend them to your liking. Great if you want full control over texture.
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Crushed Tomatoes are often made from ripe tomatoes that didn’t make the cut for whole peeled maybe they got a little bruised or fell off the vine early. But flavor-wise? They’re still absolute legends. These tomatoes are crushed and canned quickly, locking in sweetness and acidity. They’re ready to go right out of the can.
I keep both in my pantry. But if you're just starting out and want max flavor with zero fuss start with crushed.
👉 Try our go-to recipe: House Pizza Sauce
🧀 Cheese: It’s a Blend Thing
Want those gorgeous cheese pulls and perfect melt? Try this trio:
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Low Moisture Mozzarella (shredded): Melts beautifully and gives you structure.
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Fresh Mozzarella (torn): Adds creaminess and authenticity.
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Fontina (optional, grated): For a nutty, buttery depth of flavor.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese down first, then tuck in the torn pieces of fresh mozzarella. Add a light hand of fontina for that wow factor.
The Cheese:
When it comes to cheese, keep it classic start with a solid whole milk low-moisture mozzarella. It melts beautifully and brings that iconic stretch and flavor you’re craving.
We love the one from Trader Joe’s it’s affordable, reliable, and damn good.
But here’s the key move: skip the pre-shredded stuff. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch to keep the shreds from clumping in the bag. That starch can cause premature browning in a hot oven—and that’s not the kind of golden you’re going for.
As home pizza legends, we always recommend shredding your own. You’ll get a cleaner melt, better flavor, and next-level pizza results.
Want to level up even more? Try blending in a little fontina, provolone, or fresh mozz. But start with low-moisture mozzarella it’s your base layer of greatness.
🔥 The Launch: From Peel to Legend
Stretch your dough (try our 72-hour dough or 24-hour dough, sauce it, top it and now it’s go time.
Grab your Baking Steel Peel, crafted from beautiful cherry wood. I love wood peels—especially for the launch—because wood naturally absorbs a touch of moisture from the dough, making it way better than metal for a clean, confident release.
Here’s the move:
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Dust the peel with a little semolina flour
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Place your stretched dough on top
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Give it a gentle jiggle to make sure it’s not sticking
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Launch it onto your screaming-hot Baking Steel
The launch can feel intimidating the first few times, but with a little practice, you’ll be sliding pizzas like a pro.
Pro Tip: Maybe the pizza purists won’t want to hear this, but our wooden peels are the dream peels. I don’t just launch with mine I serve right on it. I slice my pizzas directly on the peel, and after making hundreds of pizzas, mine is still holding up like a champ. Just wipe on a little mineral oil once in a while to keep that cherry wood looking and performing its best.
👉 Watch this video: How to Launch Pizza Like a Pro
🏆 Now You’re the Legend
Slice it up. Watch the cheese stretch. Watch your friends’ eyes widen. That’s what happens when you build your pizza on a foundation of steel.
As the famous yogi said: practice, practice, practice.
And if you want to come hang with me? I do Baking Steel classes a few times a month on Zoom, and they are completely free. Here is a link to our calendar.
Every time you make pizza, you’re going to get better. Follow these guidelines, and before you know it, you’ll be crushing it. Your friends will be lining up on Friday nights talking about how your pizza is the best they’ve ever had.
Want to make it official?
👉 Get Your Baking Steel
🙋♂️ FAQ: From Dough to Glory
Q: Do I need a pizza oven to use Baking Steel?
Nope! Your home oven is more than enough. That’s the beauty of the Steel — it supercharges what you already have.
Q: Can I use store-bought dough?
Absolutely. And we’ll show you how to make it amazing: Turn Store-Bought Dough into Gold
Q: What’s the best cheese for pizza?
Start with low-moisture mozzarella. Blend in fresh mozz and a little fontina if you’re feeling fancy.
Q: How hot should the oven be?
Preheat to 500°F (or 450°F if you're using a broiler hack for electric ovens), then finish under broil for restaurant-quality results.
🔥 Final Word
You’re not just making pizza. You’re creating a vibe. A ritual. A reason for people to gather.
This is how legends are made one unforgettable pizza night at a time.
Let’s make it official. 👉 Shop the Steel
